I’m a Social Media Entrepreneur, Professor of Digital Marketing, Author of 9 books, Podcaster and an Organic Farmer.

CNN IBN is going to launch a new program called ‘Be The Change’, a program that aims to highlight initiatives taken up by citizens. They got to know about this small initiative that a small bunch of us have taken on promoting cycling to work amongst corporates, especially IT companies.

I have been cycling to work the past 8 years (On and off. Mostly On)and totally enjoy it. I remember when I worked at Tidel Park, one of the swankiest tech parks in the city, most would vie to drive big cars while a few bunch of us would cycle to work. We were the mavericks and loved the idea of being different. I would cycle from Virugambakkam to Taramani, a distance of 24 kms. Two Way.

A couple of days ago, Rohini Mohan of CNN IBN flew in from Delhi to shoot. The program follows the citizen journalism mode…which means that instead of a professional reporter covering the story, it is us who host the program. We also had to think of the script of the program and in what sequence we had to shoot them. I had never done such stuff before and it was interesting putting on the cap that professional broadcast journos do.

I had with me, Venkatesh Chandrasekaran, Head of Research & Development,Automotive at Satyam Computers. He is also the founder of Schools for India project and the brain behind the ICR on ECR annual cycling race from Chennai to Pondicherry. He is an avid cycling enthusiast and often cycles to work.

All of us got together at my home at around 9:30 a.m. We started shooting around my neighbourhood

They fixed a cordless mix onto me and made me talk about my experiences while I was cycling. I loved this part. Seen here is Satheesh, the official camerman from CNN IBN. This guy is amazingly professional and tried out various angles. This shot was taken by me when we were moving.

Seen here is Satheesh and Rohini tying the camera stand to the cycle handlebar.

Now, with the camera fixed to my cycle, Sathees does one final check. I was made to cycle around and talk into the camera. You should have seen the kind of attention it generated around the crowd.

The camera on Venky’s cycle.

You know you are a total geek (or a very busy head of dept) when you can’t resist checking mails between shoots.

The whole shoot lasted for over 6 hours. All this for a mere 4 minutes of actual air time. Amazing. I was impressed by the passion and the eye for perfection that the CNN IBN crew had. By the time we finished around 4:00 pm, we were ravenously hungry and headed to Karaikudi restaurant for a sumptuous meal.

The program should air on CNN IBN during mid November. Will update you on the exact date and time.

For the Chennai Runners Gang, every quarter there’s a very sacrosanct outing that most look forward to… either in anticipation or trepidation (depends on the level of your training).

And, that is the 30 kilometer run on the picturesque East Coast Road. The race starts at 4:30 early morning near the Toll Gate and ends at Mahabalipuram.

Here’s a shout out to all runners who love running. It’s an awesome opportunity to run with some really passionate folks. There’s a special energy about this group that always gets the best out of you.

We also need volunteers to help the runners. Would you be able to help out by providing water to the runners. All you need is a vehicle ( 2 wheeler or 4 wheeler), an extremely loud alarm clock to wake you up early in the morning, and a very big kind heart to help the toiling runners.

If you would like to chip in, please call Karthikeyan at 98842 17276 or me at 98415 97744. Thanks in advance.

A healthy number of folks joined up for the 3rd iFix Potholes initiative a few days ago. For folks new to this concept, it’s an initiative from a group who decided that just cribbing about infrastructure problem won’t do and decided to pitch in with their effort and money.

This time simultaneous team met up at different location at Chennai to work on the potholes.

Some corporates have also stepped up to help out. Ram from FindNearYou.com has helped with providing reflector jackets and this is a huge help as all the volunteers start work at late night when the traffic has eased.

The movement has spread to Bangalore and Delhi too.

More photos here

Today morning marked my return to the Ultimate Frisbee game after nearly two months. Thanks to a shoulder injury, sheer laziness and a wee bit busier than usual work schedule made sure I went no where near any sport.

The team met at Marina Beach, a change in venue from the usual Besant Nagar Elliots Beach. I like Marina a lot better than Besant Nagar. A lot lesser stones and the sand was a bit harder and hence easier to run. Maybe it was because of the overnight rain.

As expected, I was very rusty. So, rusty that I had to take a break just 10 minutes into the game. It would take a couple of games to get into the groove.

Been following the team’s progress over the mailing list and was expecting major catching up to do but realized I hadn’t missed as much as I thought. We have back to back games tomorrow and on Sunday. That’s a much needed practice for me before the tournament begins next month.

Here are a few snaps shot by Sid during one of the previous games.

Tomorrow should be an interesting day. As part of a consulting gig I do for Satyam Computer Services, I get to meet Arun Tiwari, better known as the co-author of Abdul Kalam’s bestselling biography ‘Wings of Fire’.

Just like most of us, I knew nothing about Arun Tiwari, until I got an email saying that tomorrow morning I’m part of a team meeting him. Heck, I did not even know he was the co-author of the book, even though I read it.

And so, I googled him… and came up with interesting facts.

a) Arun is a missle scientist who worked along with Kalam on ‘Trishul’ and ‘Akash’ missiles.

b) He is credited with designing the country’s first titanium bottle used to power missiles.

c) He, along with Kalam, designed the indigenous coronary stent used in by-pass surgeries known as the Kalam-Raju stent.

d) He designed the country’s first satellite-based telemedicine system.

e) He was the first non-medical director of the Cardiovascular Technology Institute at Hyderabad.

f) He doesn’t have a Wikipedia entry, which is a shame. I should start a page on him later in the day.

Here’s short piece on him by The Hindu and an interview at Rediff.com.

It’s 3:50 early in the morning and I’m off to catch the first flight to Bangalore. I’m heading straight to the Indian Insititute of Management, Bangalore for their huge annual business fest called Vista ’07. With a budget exceeding Rs.1 Crore, it better be called Huge.

I’ve been invited to take a day long workshop on how Entrepreneurs and CEOs can leverage the power of Blogs, Podcasts and Wikis.

I’ll also be quite active in getting a lot of high profile interviews for The Kiruba Show, where I have conversations with CEOs of Indian IT industry. Expect some good action there.

I’ll be in Bangalore for the next three days. If you want to meet up, shout out at Kiruba at Kiruba.com or 098415 97744.

The new version of Knowledge Management India website launched today and it’s way better than the old version. It’s in time for their really big annual event called the ‘KM India 2007 : Knowledge Summit’.

One of the reasons I’m excited about it because I’ve been invited to speak at the event and share my learnings about Unconferences. I’ll be teaming up with the wonderful Raj Datta, General Manager – Knowledge Management, Mindtree Consulting to speak on the topic ‘Creating Knowledge through Conversations: Social Networks, Unconferences, Knowledge Cafes’.

I absolutely adore the topic and I’ve been a firm believer in the concept of Unconferences as a learning methodology. The success of SearchCamp which took place over the weekend is another example why it’s an awesome to get the crowd involved in the learning and sharing process. It’ll be an awesome opportunity for me to distill all the learnings I’ve had in conducting nearly half a dozen major unconferences so far. I can’t wait for the session.

The program schedule looks a killer. Awesome speaker list too.

The event is taking place at Le Meridien, New Delhi on November 14th till 16th.

I’ll put in the descriptions and my view of the event soon. Until then, here are the pictures.

It’s the most focused event on Search Engine Marketing & Optimization down south. The event kicks off today and is expected to attract over 200 folks. As usual, quite a lot of last minutes scurries from the organizing side. Will update more on this. But now, I should rush off to the venue for a quick pre-event organizers meet. Ciao.