Camouflage has moved to the next level.

Israel has developed material that looks like the rest of the landscape - a collection of unevenly distributed rocks, for example.

In the photograph, they had to indicate there were soldiers below those 'rocks' waiting in complete readiness.

Camouflage patterns have taken over as fashion statements - with the mottled and distinctive designs that signify 'military' gear.

The actual requirement goes much deeper - because heat-seeking devices could pick out hidden soldiers.

That had to be masked.

The light sheets are made from a combination of polymers and other materials.

Heat signals are damped down, so there's no warning of soldiers lying in wait.

However, armies still have to use combinations of other devices when they are watching an area - everything from binoculars to radio equipment.

So, expect tracking to happen when radio bursts and the glint of light from a rock face hints at other activity.

It's a constant cat and mouse game 

Except that the consequences are serious. Blending with the scenery in a natural environment is easier - but in an urban setting, they may not be feasible.

War games are an oxymoron - the play is deadly.

Not all calories are created equal

We're fixated on easy-to-understand things

2000 calories a day. 10,000 steps. 8 hours of sleep.

The assumption is that the body is a machine and what works for one person works perfectly for all of us.

Giles Yeo has written a book that explains everything in the title

Calories don't count.

He makes a simple assertion. Not all calories can be treated the same because the way the body metabolizes them is different.

Proteins are harder to digest than fats.

So, what the body gets out of it is different. 

Institutions and guidelines simplify things to the point where they become prescriptions for everyone.

Nuance is lost completely.

And using devices to measure body rhythms and conditions lulls us into the belief that we're being taken care of as long as we follow what our devices instruct us to do.

Try this simple experiment.

Eat only when you feel hungry.

Sleep when you feel sleepy. Not at a time when you're supposed to 'go to bed'

The body has its own rhythms.

A million things are going on inside at the same time.

And when we start listening to it, we'll hear more.

The frequency to tune into to is what you own body clock is telling you.

None of us is primed to eat breakfast at 8 am, lunch at 1.00 pm and dinner at 7.30.

That may be more out of habit than health.

Listen to what your body tries so hard to tell you. But you have to learn how to.

A page is not what you think it is

When you're reading a real book or magazine, you know.

But on a Kindle, what is a page?

Try finding out. Especially if you have the Kindle app on your smartphone and the desktop cloud reader.

It will smartly bring you to the point at which you were on each of the devices but there's no way to determine the page you're on.

That's because of several fluid points. The size of the screen.

The preferred gap you have set between lines for your reading comfort.

Even the size of the type makes a difference to the number of words that can be displayed on a 'page'.

So, Kindle now shows different measurement points to help you understand - by telling you how long the chapter will take to read, depending on the speed at which you read.

Or the percentage of the chapter covered.

We talk of web pages as if they were exact equivalents of real sheets.

But that's nowhere close.

The way the web 'page' is assembled is different for websites, for smartphones and for iPads.

And in apps. That's another ball game altogether.

We've imported several terms from the world we knew.

However, it is obvious that many of these may not be relevant going forward.

The 'page' may soon be another relic among several other terms that have fallen into disuse.

Or mean something else altogether.

Every week, I'll plant a few ideas in your mind on branding, behavior and markets. Triggers for your thoughts. Spread the word to your friends. All you have to do is click the link and enter an email address.

Here's a sense of how beauty defines every aspect of our lives.

Nature is not out to win any contests.

But our notion of beauty, even with respect to vegetables, creates unnecessary waste in food chains.

Blemish-free extends to vegetables as well in the US. So potatoes, tomatoes, onions and all types of vegetables are picked out of wholesale piles and only the ones that meet display standards are put up for sale.

What happens to the rest? They are labeled as 'ugly' vegetables and even though they are perfectly fine to consume, their market value plummets. 

They are sold at prices far lower than the ones closest to 'perfection'

Apart from waste, this skews the market price as well because the cost of vegetables being thrown away has to be factored in.

And this was the opportunity Abhi Ramesh came across after having pursued a series of ventures, successful and not-so-successful.

He launched a brand called Misfits Market.

They experimented to find out if customers would buy - and found buyers were more than willing

Demand skyrocketed when the vegetables were sold online at prices far lower than what supermarkets charge.

In just a couple of years, they employ over 1000 employees and are valued at over $1 billion

Who thought such a makeover was possible? It required some talent to make misfits stand out.

Ugly vegetables are looking positively delectable now.

Email is the millstone round our necks

If one of the world's largest companies struggles with an email migration project, what does it tell you?

It's become too big. And it does fail. Spectacularly.

IBM had sold some of its products to HCL Technologies in India and wanted to move the entire email system to its own servers.

Now that's a tricky move.

We've accumulated thousands of emails and attachments and organizing or managing the load varies wildly

Some of us delete all emails every month.

Some never delete anything. Add multiple updates and versions coexisting.

This huge variance sets up all kinds of minefields.

IBM developed its own version of email on the cloud called Verse and it's gone from bad to Worse. Sorry, couldn't resist that one.

The project was supposed to be completed in 18 months but shows no signs of being close to completion.

Website migration has better protocols and processes in place, but email is like transporting jelly in an open cart over potholed roads and expecting the consignment to arrive perfectly intact.

Not going to happen.

So, thousands of IBMers are now stuck with a combination of their messaging systems, phones and laptops refusing to play ball.

It's the kind of thing that makes CIOs sweat.

Forty odd years after email was invented, it's become something we can’t live without.

Or live with.

Billionaires and their space sagas

Jeff Bezos announced that he would be flying into space as one of the first private citizens in the world.

The combination of billionaire dreams and space travel attracted swarms of media chatter.

Bezos announced his brother would be joining him on the trip.

Coverage of brotherly love and close embraces followed.

As well as details of the casual $20 million plus dollar tab for the trip. What's a few millions for an out of the world experience?

The countdown began.

Blue Origin was all set to launch on 20th July.

The sidelight was an 82-year-old who was also supposed to fly with Bezos - one of the lucky ones chosen.

As the rest of the world watched and waited, other billionaires seethed.

This is space travel in the sense that the spacecraft goes 60 miles into space and then returns, not a destination like the moon or Mars.

Now, Richard Branson, the Virgin brand billionaire has stolen the thunder.

He's announced that he'll be flying into space on 11th July - a week before Bezos.

That gives him bragging rights Bezos can't refute.

Suddenly, the richest man on earth has been relegated to second place.

It looks like having billions in the bank makes no difference - it goes all the way from flaunting cars to mansions to space travel.

Meanwhile other notable billionaires must be tending to bruised aspirations. 

Unfortunately, there's no magic potion for disappointments.

Every week, I'll plant a few ideas in your mind on branding, behavior and markets. Triggers for your thoughts. Spread the word to your friends. All you have to do is click the link and enter an email address.

Life's come full circle.

Henson's, a Canadian brand, is advertising a set of razors with the smoothest shave ever.

And they look exactly like the ones that went out of style generations ago.

They work with old-fashioned double-sided blades.

But how do you sell them in a world where Gillette lines up four and six blades in a row for smoother shaves?

You go back to the basics.

Open up the top layer. Slip in the blades that have almost disappeared from stores today.

And apparently, they've worked on the design, so that it no longer nicks and slices skin like it did, back in the day. 

Shaving was a ritual. A shaving round of soap, a brush for spreading and working up the lather, and then making careful, smooth moves.

One wrong jerk and the blade would draw blood.

Band-aids on the face were common.

That's why it is surprising to see the model reinvigorated.

And here's the kicker. No blades included. Use any of the regular old-fashioned cheap blades.

Henson claims the razor has been machined to expose only a small sliver of the blade - and that removes practically all chances of getting cut.

For all you know, it may beat all those fancy engineering acrobatics that the newer razors promise 

Want to go retro for a close shave?

Honda plans a map for feet

Cars and 2 wheelers have maps.

But Honda's taking a step to help the visually impaired navigate.

Shoes or other footwear are equipped with special add-ons.

The person programs a route before they step out of home.

Then, the sensors take over.

The left shoe vibrates when a left turn has to be taken and both vibrate when the route is straight ahead - the system is being worked on.

The natural question that arises is - why wouldn't a mobile phone app be enough?

And of course, what happens in inclement weather like rain or snow?

The kinks have to be worked out for sure.

The product is set for a launch only by 2023 but it has already aroused interest.

Blind people possibly believe they will be more sure-footed with feedback right from the ground as they're walking.

It may be small innovations at first but if this works, it can scale to build in other signals to warn, orient or even new kinds of notifications users themselves can come up with.

The market is estimated at around 1.6 million people in Japan alone.

If it becomes a must-have, the possibilities and the potential to evolve are immense.

Honda may be known for its cars but if it starts at people's feet, there's no telling how far they could go.

The 'news' today is a world away from newspapers

The generational shift has happened.

A couple of decades ago, newspapers reigned supreme as the reputable sources.

But that has undergone an upheaval, not a change, as the report from Reuters highlights.

Print has been one of the worst affected, especially after the Covid crisis.

News Corp Australia suspended the print editions of 112 suburban and regional mastheads, axing almost 1,000 jobs.

In India too, there has been turmoil, but newspapers have kept a lid on the teams who were let go.

A Medium article link provides details as a personal project and the number of layoffs has been high.

Most of it is due to the drop in circulation owing to Covid but it is clear digital competition and dramatic changes in the underlying business model are altering the media landscape beyond recognition.

73% of the respondents in India accessed news through their smartphones last year.

What's troubling is that 53% use WhatsApp and YouTube as their sources.

The distinction between editing a story and publishing it has been lost in the bargain.

While there are reporters schooled the old way in verifying and checking sources, the 'news' as we know it is no longer the same.

And that has led to a drop in trust and belief.

There's no point in yearning for the times gone by but the need to bring back truth is a goal to aim for.

Every week, I'll plant a few ideas in your mind on branding, behavior and markets. Triggers for your thoughts. Spread the word to your friends. All you have to do is click the link and enter an email address.

Why would the internet need zipping?

Well, let’s take documents, images, music and movies.

Each of them is encoded in different formats. And the higher the file resolution, the bigger the file size.

To send them across the net, especially when bandwidth was nowhere near the capacities we have today, there was only one way to do it.

Lossless compression.

Thank Jacob Ziv. Born in 1931 in what would become a part of Israel.

His Ph.D. research at Cambridge University in 1960 involved finding a method to encode and decode messages sent through a noisy channel.

At that point, no one had a clue on how it could be done.

The principle was the same as the way Morse code was developed. Since 'e' is the most used letter, it was depicted by a single dot.

He and Abraham Lempel developed an algorithm to scan data and the moment it found matching bits; it would simply point to the location where the previous one was. No repeats.

It didn't matter what was being transmitted - the data was compressed to a fraction of the original making it much easier to send on those rickety channels of the early internet.

That's how WinZip and GZip became the preferred 'zipping' software to send large files in the 90s.

Or else, we would still be couriering disks!

Why don't Indian wives call their husbands by name?

Tch. Tch. Ketto? (In Malayalam, it means 'Listen')

Raju ke Pappa in North India. (substitute appropriate child's name instead of Raju here)

The mysterious ways in which husbands are addressed in Indian households is one on which PhD's in psychology can be obtained.

It's ok to use rude sounds, taps and clearing of throats but the name must never be uttered.

Much like Voldemort - he who must remain nameless.

Does not work in reverse, though. Husbands are free to address their wives any way they choose. By nicknames. Affectionate turns of phrase. Or sarcasm.

Apparently, calling husbands by their proper names is disrespectful. The reasons are never explained because there isn't any logic to apply.

Thankfully, the current generation has thrown caution to the winds, but it remains a potential mother-in-law daughter-in-law flash point.

If I can't call my husband by his name, how can you take that liberty?

Even today, some wives in Kerala address their husbands as 'Chetta' (brother) 

How does one mix and merge familial relationships which are polar opposites?

The origins should be interesting.

Human behavior and customs evolve in ways that aren't predictable or rational.

And reading between the lines throws up nuances not visible on the surface.

Paternity is the easy answer.

Will robot pizza deliveries intrude into our spaces?

First you had to teach robots to navigate.

Then, they were instructed to stick to lanes, not mess up traffic.

Now, cyclists in Austin have expressed unhappiness at an experiment, having to share bike lanes with pizza delivery robots.

The questions a technical team may not have factored in.

The robots look like ice cream carts and travel at about 10-15 kms per hour.

So far so good.

Now, what happens when cyclists come up behind the robots?

How do you deal with them in day-to-day traffic?

What happens when several robots crowd lanes during peak demand?

Will cyclists have to grin and bear it?

The problem with a test is that it simulates rush hour but not the ripple effects among humans and the takeover of lanes.

Or else this is glossed over because no one has any real answers.

Robots were supposed to solve efficiency problems, but they are creating fresh ones.

They can't take over sidewalks because pedestrians will protest encroachment on 'their' space.

And adding to regular traffic is going to complicate matters further.

There's going to be an uneasy jockeying to find the right mix. Or else, it may never happen.

Robots took over factories without deep resistance, but daily push and shove will be another matter altogether.

Expect fireworks.

Every week, I'll plant a few ideas in your mind on branding, behavior and markets. Triggers for your thoughts. Spread the word to your friends. All you have to do is click the link and enter an email address.

It's the stuff of legends and one man seemed to make it work.

Charles Kellogg (no relation to the cereal brand) made music of a different sort.

He held public performances that riveted audiences in the early 20th century.

They were largely imitations of nature and bird calls, which Kellogg had learned during his childhood, spending long stretches of time in the forest.

He claimed he could even attract bears to concerts in the wild with his abilities.

One of the highlights of his shows was to put out fires using a series of high-strung musical notes.

With the help of General Electric, this was put to the test in a public performance over radio.

Forty miles away, in San Jose, a gas burner with the flame going up to 2 feet high was extinguished with Kellogg's music.

Apparently, people living in homes held up lighted candles to the receiver and they were extinguished as well.

Strange that the technology was never developed further because using sound to put out fires would certainly be more eco-friendly than using water.

Kellogg documented his life in a book called 'The Nature Singer'

Only a thousand copies were printed.

The reality between myth and the truth will never be bridged.

The Economics professor wowing her online class

She's not another stamp-sized square in the classroom.

Emily Nix realized that the connect with her students was not coming through.

From the time the pandemic forced everyone to attend classes online, she scoured the internet for solutions.

Unhappy with the high costs of some of the standard ones, she built one herself.

When she explains concepts in economics, she seems to be writing directly on screen.

Her students love it and her classes have become a lot more engaging.

But things went way beyond her expectations she made a recording of her method and put it up on Twitter.

Within days, when she got over 50,000 views and solid appreciation from different sections of viewers, she knew she was on to something special.

The curious part is that lightboards have been around for years but the twist of projecting it on camera brings the teacher up close to students - much like the real classroom.

The lesson from this is that we need to step back and figure out new ways for digital classrooms to evolve.

And the solutions come from one-off experiments like this one.

From determined teachers who find new ways to teach and interact.

A marbles tournament, anyone?

Remember how passionately kids played with marbles a few decades ago?

The rules and distances were flexible. 

You took aim with a big marble and scattered a pile.

Or launched them using the thumb as the anchor on the ground and the index finger as the propeller from the tip of the finger.

The games would go on for hours and rules were made up on the spot according to who had the most marbles or was the creative one.

Turns out that niche sports are a lot more popular than we realize.

Heard of frolf? No? That's golf played with a frisbee.

The objective is to arc the flight of the frisbee into a tapering basket broken into sections. The photos are in the article link.

These tournaments are broadcast, followed and enthusiastically discussed on social media.

The mainstream TV channels would probably look down on such pedestrian activities but if they manage to build a following, things will change.

The scent of money cannot be hidden for very long and once the business model is established; they will emerge from the shadows.

It's time we encouraged new communities around niches that become popular in future.

Marbles may even make a comeback in style.

Every week, I'll plant a few ideas in your mind on branding, behavior and markets. Triggers for your thoughts. Spread the word to your friends. All you have to do is click the link and enter an email address.

To change the world, you first have to go up against it.

Even today, nothing has changed.

Marie Curie discovered radioactivity along with her husband.

Her remains are still radioactive almost a century later, after her death in 1934.

So is the lab where she worked.

She may be feted by academia and industry on the unique path she blazed.

But there were no crowds to cheer her on and encourage her to keep working.

Athletes and sportspersons are probably the only ones who make history in public.

But the years of practice that lead to the moment are lonely, grueling years where they have to believe that things will finally change.

Have you heard of Katlin Kariko?

Not many had until 2020

She believed in the power of mRNA to fight disease. It was unproven and the entire scientific establishment dismissed her theories.

She found it hard to get grants, funding and even acceptance from her colleagues.

And this went on right from the 1990s

Until a couple of companies understood that this was a revolutionary way to create vaccines to beat Covid.

Katlin's work helped to create Moderna's vaccine.

And that's when a lonely road became a historical one.

When the ad break becomes the show

The memes around ad breaks focus on one thing.

People taking bathroom breaks from watching TV

Streaming platforms have cut them out of the picture.

YouTube has intrusive ads cutting right into the content.

So brands are now experimenting with crossing over.

Becoming the content instead of the break.

L'Oréal has created its first season of shows and premiered it on YouTube.

It's aimed at hair professionals and the format is three experts discussing hair treatments, looks and styles.

It all looks very slick, and the post-production gloss would never come through in the home videos that popular YouTubers have.

But the conversations are stilted and filled with artificial bonhomie.

There's also a lot less of the actual treatment and the styling in progress.

The looks are all still photographs instead of video.

That tends to make it look more like a digital magazine than a show for audiences.

Wattpad, a crowdsourced content site makes a great point - that brands have to learn to create content all over again as opposed to the 1- and 2-minute commercials.

The rules are different.

And agencies have to reinvent their game as well.

The wall between ads and content are crumbling.

The bees join the rat race

Apart from the proverb, "As busy as a bee", we've relegated them to the background buzz of our life.

Turns out that bees are far more essential to nature than humans are.

In Germany, they found wild bee populations disappearing at an alarming rate.

Our obsession with 'useful' is doublespeak for 'commercial'

If something has no commercial value, it will be safely ignored, and no one wants to talk or do anything about it.

That's precisely why this government initiative is so heartening.

Urban wilderness patches have been created in orderly Berlin.

Initially, there was massive resistance from people because they believed 'nature' meant manicured lawns!

However, the planting continued and in 3 years, the benefits are obvious.

There's a riot of colourful flowers and shrubs adjoining streamlined highways.

And the bees are back.

Buzzing around happily in their own favourite wild patches, helping to reverse a decline of 75% in wild bee populations.

Over 100 wildflower meadows have now been planted in Berlin - they don't follow the rules of gardens as defined by humans. It's the untidy and unbelievable diversity that springs to life.

Citizens have seen the light, asking for more of them to be grown.

Urban rat races may just get the boost they need from bees.

Every week, I'll plant a few ideas in your mind on branding, behavior and markets. Triggers for your thoughts. Spread the word to your friends. All you have to do is click the link and enter an email address.

It's not part of a common skill set.

But cops have to restrain unruly people as part of their job.

In India, cops rely on their ability to surprise and their ingenuity. Or strength in numbers.

In the US, the favored weapon is a taser to immobilise people temporarily.

However, it is highly painful and a traumatic experience for the victim.

Medical workers or those trying to secure violent patients have few other options.

There's an interesting device that shoots out a rope.

And it binds itself around the person in a flash.

It's called a Bola Wrap.

Before the person can react, they're all trussed up like a gift package.

And apart from being embarrassed, there's no pain involved.

It can be fired from a 10-25 metre range and will cause no physical harm.

Police get the vital time to move in and subdue offenders in tense situations.

The product is not sold to civilians and with good reason.

Too many pranksters would revel in the options that suddenly open up for them.

From an enforcement standpoint, this is a humane way to dial down a situation.

And it offers a non-violent solution with a unique advantage.

Not all solutions have to be sensible

This may seem pointless.

What do you do when a pencil you use gets too small to hold?

You throw it away, of course.

But trust the Japanese to find another way.

A company known for its pencil sharpeners came up with an idea.

In the land of Manga artists, pencils are still bought in large numbers and initial illustrations are painstakingly drawn on paper before scanning and coloring them on computers.

So, here's the essence of the concept.

You glue the small stub of the pencil on to another one. Like fitting a train compartment to another.

Nothing is wasted.

You may have the most unusual pencil on earth with 4-5 stubs stuck together.

In this day and age, finding new ways to use pencils is not exactly a priority.

But for those who still use them regularly to draw and make notes, this is an interesting twist.

And since no stub is wasted but flows into the lead of the next pencil, it extends the life of an unusable pencil without wasting it.

Even in businesses that are well past their prime, innovation does not have to falter.

As long as there are dogged designers who chip away.

VR Advertising is here

Facebook just made a public admission.

For VR to succeed, it needs advertising.

The current cost of an Oculus headset is around $300 or more.

And it leads to the typical chicken and egg situation. How low will the price have to drop for people to start buying and using the headsets?

The answer is that advertising will probably be the route to a mass VR revolution.

Back in the 50s, P&G got on to television and attracted a whole generation of housewives with serials.

That led to more TVs being sold and more serials being made, and stars being created. Which then led to more products advertising on TV.

That continues to this day, as people across the world tune in at around 7 pm and watch everything from sports to singing contests to family sagas and politics.

It's a relationship that has worked everywhere, literally. 

No matter how much advertising is trashed, and people talk of how little they believe in it, the simple equation of an advertising subsidy paying for mass reach is now etched in stone.

Facebook may be a social medium - but its engine is driven by the fuel of advertising.

That won't change, ever.

Every week, I'll plant a few ideas in your mind on branding, behavior and markets. Triggers for your thoughts. Spread the word to your friends. All you have to do is click the link and enter an email address.

In breathless prose, we're told what to expect at next year's fashion ramps.

The device that will dominate world markets

Or what the world has just discovered.

That's why this video is puzzling.

It appears on BBC, so you think it's gone through some standard checks.

The headline says "Why a Dutch wellness trend is taking over the world'

We're treated to a scenic view of cows ruminating in a idyllic landscape.

Close up shots of the cow's nose almost touching the camera.

And then, the great reveal about 20 seconds into the video.

Cow cuddling. Huh?

What does it involve?

Exactly what the phrase promises. You cuddle a cow.

Apparently, it's the ultimate stress buster for urban dwellers looking to find some pastoral peace.

Hug a cow.

The farmers who speak with a straight face that they first found their daughter cuddling cows 14 years ago and it helped.

As if kids over centuries haven't ever rubbed cow's noses or held them close

Then the medical justification. That cows have slightly warmer bodies and a lower heart rate.

So that makes the experience of resting against them comforting and stress busting.

Wow. 

The Emperor's new clothes of the 21st century.

Plastic - from wonder material to nightmare

How did the best solution to the world's problems turn lethal?

Go back to headlines from the 60s about plastic.

It was touted as a brilliant breakthrough.

Packaging gurus hailed it. "It's lightweight, it's tough, transparent, waterproof"

One of the early switches was milk delivery. Glass bottles were cumbersome and expensive.

The cheap and easy availability of plastic became the game-changer across industries.

Packaging thrived and expanded, making logistics across the world a breeze.

And then, the very thing that made plastic amazing became the bottleneck.

The fact that it was indestructible.

How do you create a material that takes pressure, doesn't react easily with food and withstands a fair amount of temperature fluctuations disappear once it has served its purpose?

Over decades, development work done with plastic created a packaging revolution and durable, attractive and colorful packs became the norm for everything from edible oil to toys.

Those colours have proved to be the other problem. They're toxic and add to plastic pollution.

So how do we wean the world off plastic? We're addicted to it.

Besides, the entire world's supply chain will collapse.

But there is a solution on the horizon which I will touch upon tomorrow.

Rethinking plastic

Activists can highlight problems and build awareness.

Which is essential because solutions arise from exerting pressure where it matters - on governments, policy makers consumers and companies.

The actual solutions, however, have to come from scientists.

Earlier, I highlighted the core issue - plastic is indestructible.

And that's precisely where Xampla operates.

First, it is a 'plastic' made from plant material, not petroleum.

So, it decays harmlessly over time.

Xampla has moved beyond the lab into commercial production.

And they're tackling the biggest polluting segment within plastics - single use.

Food packaging, grocery bags, oil, liquids - all of these combines to create over 50% of the plastics discarded every year.

The other major applications are where most of us don't even see it.

In microplastics used for fabric softeners, shampoos and cosmetics, agricultural and industrial products.

All of this finally flows into the oceans and microplastics have been found at depths of up to 3000 metres, hundreds of kilometres off coastal areas.

The worst part? They affect marine life negatively in ways we're only beginning to understand.

Hopefully, Xampla and other companies will stem the tide.

As they make the plastic we need.

Without the pollution problems we have to worry about.

Every week, I'll plant a few ideas in your mind on branding, behavior and markets. Triggers for your thoughts. Spread the word to your friends. All you have to do is click the link and enter an email address.

Ford said all its cars would go electric by 2035.

They've already launched an all-electric version of their largest selling truck, the F-150 recently.

And in weeks, it got orders of over 50,000.

If all manufacturers decide to switch to electric vehicles, lithium will be the next oil.

Current estimates are that supplies will last until 2080.

But that doesn't mean that the price of lithium will not climb steeply in the years to come.

Chile, Australia, Argentina, China, US  - these are the countries with the largest lithium reserves currently.

And it's inevitable that news about lithium developments will begin to dominate media cycles.

It has already begun.

Scientists at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology have reportedly developed an economically viable system to extract high-purity lithium from seawater.

The biggest benefit is not just the cost - the process apparently acts to desalinate the water as well.

But this is a research project, years away from commercial readiness.

Expect more and more stories around lithium to make the headlines.

The actual progress will be slow and erratic.

But there will be breathless reports from time to time.

The oil headlines will shift to the tides of lithium.

The tribute that cuts deep

Arijit Singh is a crooner.

His melodious rendering of romantic songs have blasted off the charts.

But his Covid saga 'Jaanein Bachayenge' (we will save lives) tugs at the heartstrings in completely different ways.

Raw emotions that go deep into the lives of people affected.

The video isn't pretty. There are no soft focus sequences.

Chests heave and patients struggle to breathe.

And the lyrics, written by Neelesh Misha capture the essence of what is being robbed everyday.

Chehra hamara ab hum, kam kam hi dekhte hain (we're seeing our own selves far lesser these days)

Kamron mein bebasi ke, bas gham hi dekhte hain (In rooms full of angst, it's grief that lives)

And Arijit is almost plaintive in his rendition of the song. It works because we've all gone through it in different ways. There was no escape.

There is a high note of hope, of course and the music does soar and bring up smiles.

But they're tired. The ones that mask sadness.

A nurse slumps on a chair in exhausted sleep

Ham ghar ke bistaron par, kab se nahin hain soye (when did we last sleep on our bed at home)

How long will tears flow? 

The workhorses who create stars

There are people stars don't mess with.

Apart from directors and producers.

Makeup professionals and cinematographers.

They can make and break stars with a simple change of angle.

The ethereal looks are dependent on good makeup and lighting.

Over time, stars understand this dynamic perfectly.

They are mortal beings with secret weapons.

Dress designers. They understand what makes them look good and create looks that last far beyond the film.

The Cannes look or even the characters in a film stay in your mind because dress designers imprint the characters on people's minds even without making it obvious.

It's not even in the looks department. Famous singers will only record at a certain studio and with the same recordist.

It's not because they have a special liking for them.

They understand that the person has the ability to draw out something deep. The magic is created there, even if it already exists in the voice.

Stars have retinues because the process of retaining the gloss takes a team with multiple talents.

The business is unpredictable and everyone's looking for anchors to weather storms of public opinion and taste.

Some stories will never be told

The chinks in the glamour armour.

Every week, I'll plant a few ideas in your mind on branding, behavior and markets. Triggers for your thoughts. Spread the word to your friends. All you have to do is click the link and enter an email address.

The site advertises itself as the 4 am friend.

And during the pandemic that stretched on for more than two years, managing mental health has become a challenge.

There are taboos around seeking professional help.

And for counseling to work, a bond of trust has to be built.

Wysa is an Indian startup looking to solve truly difficult problems.

But loneliness and depression tackled by talking to a program?

In some ways, it's dystopian. Have we come to this that people have to seek out a chatbot?

Don't they have friends or family to turn to?

The issues are complex and layered.

The fact that they have signed up over 3 million users from 65 countries is telling.

Maybe people think they will be judged and seen differently when they speak to who they know.

On the other hand, the founder says there's research to show that people open up to bots 3 times faster than they would to humans.

They knew they were on the right track when a 13-year-old wrote in to say that the program had saved her life.

That's both reassuring and scary.

We thought that the human-to-human connection was supreme.

What if it isn't?

We'll never learn

We got hooked to AirbnB and Uber.

Now, are we ready to pay the price?

To switch people from existing habits, deep discounting of current market prices seems the only sure-fire formula.

In the initial years, Airbnb offered a subsidized alternative to hotels that cost twice or thrice as much.

Uber cost a fraction of cab travel.

All that is set to change with rates going through the roof and not just because of surge pricing.

Now that valuations have been built, existing market dynamics are forcing companies to set charges compared to what cabs and hotels cost anyway.

Pay Pal had to do the same to get people to move to digital payments. They paid people to do transactions to begin with.

And as they got comfortable with the convenience, the prices inched steadily higher.

Google let us upload tons of photographs for a whole decade. Now, there's a monthly or yearly charge going forward once the storage limit is crossed.

Take a look at any new entrant into a business and it's the same story over and over again.

We can't resist the lure of free or low prices.

As we mint a steady stream of billionaires.

Paul and Mike make edible sin

The brand name is far from exciting.

It's as if they decided that people's names are far easier to remember than concocted brand exotica.

The unusual part is that the chocolate is made in Kerala.

Yes, God's own country produces a highly delectable version of edible sin.

It's not assembled from imported cocoa but grown in local plantations.

Wet cocoa beans are sourced from farmers in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

Farm-to-bar, as they call it is all managed locally. And backed by Synthite – a USD 200 million natural food ingredients company.

So, why is a Made in India chocolate news?

They won a silver for the 64% Dark Sichuan Pepper and Orange Peel Vegan chocolate at the International Chocolate awards.

That's winning over true competition from Swiss and Belgian chocolatiers who have decades of experience.

As always, Indians wait for international validation.

Now that it has arrived, the surge of orders on the site has led to delays in delivery.

Expect Paul and Mike to suddenly ascend the status sweepstakes.

They've beaten the biggies on their home turf. What if it was a Silver?

Next time, it could be Gold.

Honeycomb Toffee or Gin Cocktail Bee's Knees, anyone?

Every week, I'll plant a few ideas in your mind on branding, behavior and markets. Triggers for your thoughts. Spread the word to your friends. All you have to do is click the link and enter an email address.