At the inaugral edition of the PechaKucha night Hyderabad, a gentleman presented a 20x20 talk on his new venture, let's call it V. It is a place that takes orders for surprises i.e. if A wishes to surprise a loved one B on a special occasion or even otherwise, A just needs to furnish the V-team with some info on the likes/dislikes of B and voilà! they will generate a bunch of 'free' thoughtful ideas from which A can pick one and then pay V for 'arranging' the surprise. I was surprised! at the presenter's enthusiasm about the idea of outsourcing of all the things - a surprise?
Umm..personally, I wouldn't find an outsourced surprise particularly flattering. Surprises are after all gestures which at least I appreciate not for anything else but the effort that goes into making them happen; that feeling of 'Awww..you did ALL this for ME?'...I wonder how many would argue that having someone else plan/implement a gesture does not reflect insincerity and even shallowness. Howmuchsoever convenient it may sound, I wonder if a splendid or extravagant outsourced surprise can for anyone really even do what a sincere compliment can. Knowing that there is an existing clientele for this venture makes me more curious than ever on how varied are the ways in which various people feel about creating moments in relationships.
Wishing the V-team all the best and really looking forward to discover how this venture idea takes off!
Talking of surprises..today, Google pleasantly surprised me with its new feature 'Did you mean to attach files?' I had typed 'please find attached' and forgotten to attach. On clicking send, I got a prompt asking if i did mean to attach files! That's what I call a thoughtful gesture :)
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