by Shyam G

Digital agencies are notorious in IT circles. The line between work and fun is thin and hazy. Creativity is the mantra, chaos comes free. Influx thrives in chaos and revels in creativity. But order is a must, which brings us to the topic at hand.

In the red corner, we have Asana (backed by the inimitable Dustin Moskovitz) and in the blue corner, we have Flow by MetaLab.
Heavyweight vs. Flyweight? or David vs. Goliath?
That’s what we wanted to find out.

To put things in perspective - Asana is a $280 million corporation founded by Dustin Moskovitz(co-founder of Facebook) and Justin Rosenstein, its task management software left its beta stage in November 2011.
On the other hand, Flow is designed by MetaLab - one of the top interface design firms. However, this is their first(albeit commendable) attempt at a task management software.

Flow being the last one to the...

by Priyanka S

“Thank God It’s Friday” was the mantra of the day! The work week was coming to an end, and it had all of us excited. Two days of snooze fest was in order and nobody could take that away from us. We were working hard and fast, trying to get our tasks completed before the clock struck 18:30 hrs, so that we could get home, sit back, relax and of course, unwind.

But all that changed when we received this message:

Dear Influxians,
BARNIVAL IS BACK WITH A BANG!
More booze, more bites and more buzz…

Let the clock strike six
and you can get your fix.

Let us wind up by eight,
so that you don’t have to jump the gate.

Drive carefully and get home safe,
we don’t want a nuisance case.

See you all soon, booze-heads!

There was a deafening cheer!

The Booze Carnival was back, or as we Influxians call it - BARNIVAL!

Flashback:

13:00 Hrs
14:00 Hrs
15:00 Hrs
16:00 Hrs
17:00 Hrs

...

by Priyanka S

Peter Van Geit needs no introduction. The founder of Chennai Trekking Club (CTC), this Belgian, made ‘Namma’ Chennai his home for almost two decades. Falling in love with this metro as well as the country’s iridescent beauty, he stayed back and encouraged everyone to experience the great outdoors and reconnect with nature.

This Frankly Speakin’ Friday (in the month of July) our guest speaker was this adventurer and a good samaritan, who did a presentation on physical exercise, the great outdoors and volunteering spirit, titled ‘Activate Yourself, Connect with Nature & Serve through Volunteering’.

He began his hour-long lecture with a statement that made all of us take a step back and review our lives - “Modern day society puts us under constant work pressure, unhealthy food habits and inactive stagnant lifestyles that disconnect us from nature! Competitiveness and...

Priyanka S

We think that our boss (yes, yes – the very same from Ball Busting Boss Diaries post) is out to get us!

Ever since we expanded our business on a global scale (psst…have you heard? We opened a new office in Dubai), he has become a fitness freak and a health fanatic. Of course, one would think that it is to impress the ladies, but no! He wanted to stay fit and healthy so that he could “boss” over us for a long ass time.

Smart boss thought right. A step ahead of us, he realized that every influxian had to stay fit and healthy, for him to continue his Mogambo (think “Mr. India”) ways.

In an office with over 60 employees (all below the age of 45), one would think that there would be a few footloose (err…referring to dancing) people in our midst or at least people who can tap their foot rhythmically to a beat. Our dear boss thought the same and signed us up for Zumba lessons.

...

By Vikram.G.Raghunath

Friday, 17th of June, was just another day at work as all the Influxians were starting to sip their first cup of tea in the morning. All of a sudden, a message popped on the Team Influx group from none other than our HR asking us to assemble in Sunlight.

With that announcement, whoops of joy and other emotions were seen floating across the room. There were three important announcements made.

The last part of the meeting was one to remember. Mr. Balaji from business development was called on stage to share some of the interesting things happening across the globe at present. The sharing led to a debate started by our KD MD asking people if ‘Tamil Nadu should be a part of INDIA or a separate country?’ wasting no time people started arguing with each other. Initially, it was just between Santhosh and Nagarajan Manimaran as the debated heated up - a number of people...

Post by Vignesh Rajasekhar

It was just another day at Influx, the usual passing hours of retainer work, accounts and ready to get married couples. Diligent designers, thundering techs, wide-eyed writers and the ever so busy business development team, working their magic as they always do.

That’s what we thought it would be like.

Wrong….

Our charismatic Chief-in-Charge (who just happens to be bald at the moment, which I must admit, IS F*% SCARY!) came in to spy on the work that was being done. He didn’t look happy, oh no!

What happened next is probably because we hit the “bald” spot.

There was a wide range of mixed feelings that day. The clock finally struck 5 pm, but there was only one thing on everyone’s mind…. They all knew that there was still enough time for something to happen!

5:02 PM – A loud bellowing voice stops every single employee at Influx. Everything is still...

Frankly Speakin’, Friday the 13th (in the month of May) couldn’t have been better! Thanks to Padma Bhaskararaman, we got downright dirty experiencing Wabi Sabi - a Japanese philosophy to relax and unwind.

A teacher for life, Bhaskararaman, wanted us to wear clothes in shades of brown. Of course, it wouldn’t have done justice to the colourful personality of Influxians, but we tried anyway! Only later did we understand the need for ‘brown’. Brown, the most unappreciated shade in the colour wheel, has a charm of its own. Just like people. And we discovered that through art!

Bringing out the ‘lost’ child in us, Bhaskararaman made us play with clay mud; do abstract art work with paints and crayons and make something nonsensical with natural materials that are vulnerable to weathering, shrinking, warping, cracking and peeling. And we had a blast doing it! Not only that, we learnt to...

by Priyanka S

Stories have existed since long before recorded history, but the desire to hear stories hasn’t changed, nor has the longing to tell them. Today, there are so many stories to tell; however, the challenge is standing out from the clutter and effectively communicating a narrative. Uma Mahesh, a Communication Professional with 30 years of experience, taught us just that.

A strong believer of Shakespeare’s philosophy – ‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players,’ Uma acknowledges that anything and everything can make a good story. Expressing her thoughts on the art of storytelling, she says, “Great tales can be shaped from the reminiscences of old people, conversations with friends, or stories remembered from childhood. In fact, I’ll often take a brief anecdote that I’ve heard or experienced and expand on it to make a full-fledged story.”

And stories...

by Priyanka S

The month of April not only welcomed the mango season, but also opened new avenues to lesser understood creative avenues for influxians. Frankly Speakin’ Fridays, an effort taken by Influx to make work fun and informative, brought its employees together on the eve of 22nd to listen to VS Raghavan Chellam (RAGS), a passionate street photographer who shared his experiences on observing human behaviour through the photography lens.

Through his lecture, we understood that for street photographers there is no specific subject matter - only the issue of ‘life’ in general. They don’t leave the house in the morning with an agenda and they don’t visualise their photographs in advance of taking them. Street photography is about seeing and reacting, almost by-passing thought altogether.

Taking us through his street photography collection, RAGS elucidated on the common...

by Priyanka S

This month, Frankly Speaking Friday happened on a Wednesday. After the success of last month’s session, we just couldn’t wait for another one! Our guest speaker, Rahool Saksena, an Artist of Change, shared his views and experiences on freedom and expression of creativity.

When someone calls themselves an Artist of Change, you are reminded of influential painters and sculptors like Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp and Jackson Pollock, who helped define the revolutionary developments in art history. Saksena is all that and much more.

As an Artist of Change, he transforms every day mediums and materials into unexpected art forms. He strongly believes that his passion and constant quest for transformation forms his core and creates a solid foundation for myriad possibilities of creative expressions.

What do you do when you see distinct forms in twigs and trash? You admire it...