Google Wordmasters, Pune
Today I went to the (much advertised and much hyped) Google Wordmaster competition held to find Indias most creative writer (!).
The competition was very simple(Google says it, not me). Two options were given, each having 20 words. We had to choose one of those two and had to write a paragraph/essay/story/dialogue/poem/whatever incorporating those 20 words. The best part was that you had to write it on only one ruled paper provided by courtesy of Google. The hall was filled almost completely as more people turned out to attend the Google event. On top of that, it was great to see that the AC was not working. I had a nice sweat and probably this was the compensatition of missing todays workout. (How can people survice without an AC or cooler or fan? No questions to be asked. )
I am tempted to provide you with one of my worst ever written literature, but after seeing the response to this post.Click this link to find what I wrote at Google WM, Pune.
Meanwhile, curious cats can view the photocopy of Google’s paper* here. (Beware though, the image is scanned in a real life size for optimum viewing.Paper and its contents are (c) Google India 2006)
Todays advice – Dont fall prey to any competition, even if the sponsers name is Google. Those who are curious, wait for 30 Oct 2006 to see the winners of this great Google Wordmasters bash 2006…
* All content(including the nonsense concept) (c) 2006 Google India .
[INCOMPLETE]
Please go through this link too.
Pooky, and 34 others are discussing. 
I spent half a day and around Rs 50 on participating, and I’m not willing to invest any more effort or time. I’m sure there are others who spent far more than I did — I didn’t have to travel very far to reach the Bombay venue.
arshad and 
. Infact, I must say that it is a nice product, definately a good competition to its paid and bloated counterpart MS Word.
kamlesh, 
pratik, and 37 others are discussing. 
Hiren 4:09 pm on September 30, 2006 Permalink |
I went to Delhi’s googlemaster at 11am. It had participants for all age groups and was interesting in that sense. The AC was working. At least somebody is trying to spot creative writers. Its a good intiative. They told us its going to be held in 8 cities. Should be an interesting outcome.
I wonder why they leave poetry out of a ll this. That is supposed to be the ultimate in creative writing.
Harshad Joshi 4:21 pm on September 30, 2006 Permalink |
The Google blokes we had were quite liberal. One elder wanted to write a poem out of those words, and he was promptly allowed to do so. I was wondering how he would manage that act of composing a peom using those 20 words…
Needless to say, I was at my wits( and patience) end.
Pl check that paper we had. I think it was the same all over the India. Anyway, I wasent able to write anything logical or sensible. I was unhappy. I didnt like it. No AC/No assistance + a paper I didnt like.
mayuresh 8:06 am on October 1, 2006 Permalink |
interesting. do post your entry. it wud be good to see what u managed even in such trying circumstances.
Harshad Joshi 9:15 am on October 1, 2006 Permalink |
@Mayuresh
Yes I will definately blog about it.
It was a lesson for Google and for me as well. Its always good to document events that have a potential to change a paradigm in a way of thinking.
Salim 2:38 am on October 3, 2006 Permalink |
Hi,
} and a guy Malan who managed the stage. I was horrible at time management and spent most of my time writing the draft, and was left with just 10 min to copy to the actual paper. I never knew writing with a pen took soooo long and almost became illegible in the last portion {most probably they’re goin to disqualify coz of my bad writing 
}
I went to the Kolkata event on Sept 30. The hall (Xaviers auditorium) was full. There was a cute chick from google {I think Shruti and I hope google doesnt see this
I will have to be content with the goody bag and google stuff they gave away.
Guys do let us know if anybody wins !!!!
Harshad Joshi 4:20 am on October 3, 2006 Permalink |
Hmm..The Google Goodie bag was made up of paper but it wasent mentioned whether it was a handmade, recyclable or reused/recycled paper. A plastic coating on it would have made the bag more durable and would also have served as a sweet memory of Google Wordmasters..
Dear Google, next time you give us paper, please see to it that no environment is harmed. Instead of plain paper, Google Writely would have been more good. We could have appeared for online.
John Mathew 7:36 am on October 3, 2006 Permalink |
Google Wordmasters 2006 – an experience
Google Wordmasters was conducted across 10 cities in 10 cities across the country. I was one of the lucky 3000 who participated in the contest.
Here’s the experience from a man who experienced it.
I was a participant at Ahmedabad centre. At first the misconception (not only to me but to a lot of participants) was that only 300 out of the whole country would be there. So I expected around 20-30 from Ahmedabad as this was a city with the least IT savvy people compared to the other cities but to my awe, as soon as I saw around 250 people standing in the registration line, I knew I was wrong.
Hence, the conclusion was there were gonna be 2999 competiors for me !!
As I reached there, I was given a registration number at the desk and then we were led to an air conditioned auditorium. The venue was nice but still a lot of doubts here and there.
We could see a couple of youths in Google Tshirts making people envious bout them. They were working actively on the event. The head of Google from Hyderabad, Sonia Flynn, was there. She gave amazing guidelines to the restless participants who wanted to clear each and every doubt in mind (of course, which was needed guys!!)
Sonia gave a small but nice presentation on GOOGLE and also about Wordmasters 06’.
But the funny thing, was the funny questions coming from the crowd like “Can I use smileys?” “What’s the least amount of words we can write a passage on?” “Can I use French words?” etc.
Sonia was amused by the questions but managed to answer.
They gave a printed paper on which there were 2 sets of words each of a set of 20. Parcipants had to choose one of the sets and write a passage. Conditions were no one can write a passage of more than 200 words, all 20 words have to appear once in the passage and time was 1 hour inclusive of 45 min of writing, 10 min of verifying and 5 min for final check.
I had studied what the competition was before many days and so was prepared but I was not sure of getting success owing to the poor English levels of Gujarat compared to the other cities, but the competition was not much dependant on the language. It was on smart use of the time to finish a creative passage with given constraints.
The words were simple, except a few. But for me it was stressful as I wrote the passage the first time in rough in very bad handwriting to get the theme, then a second time to get it more clear, then a 3rd time to see if its all correct grammatically and also if it contains all 20 words and finally the 4th time on the actual answer sheet they had given. I found that I had written 205 words. So cut off some unnecessary words here and there. Finally I ended up at 193 words.
We submitted it and that’s it.
They gave goody bags to all, containing a big notepad, a pen, a keychain all with Google logos.
Everyone’s waiting for a call from The Google HR team. But they would call only 10 and out of 10, 3 would be winners. They would get cash prizes, a distance learning course from some top foreign university and a tour to Hyderabad Google office.
Well, I had gone because I love that brand. I admire the way it’s come up and I admire the revolutionary products they come up with. Great going GOOGLE!!
Everyone’s waiting for 30th October 2006 !!!
Harshad Joshi 8:48 am on October 3, 2006 Permalink |
Wow…You seem to be the fortunate ones having an AC..
Sadely mnay of us werent.
Yup. Many common people from all around attended this event. Its simply because Google is successful in making an impression of a world class global superbrand(which incidently it is) in mind of common people, who have little connection with technology, but are potentially biggest consumers. These are the people who will purchase large commodities and will have a role to play in deciding the market stategy. Google needs that more people should know about it.
Thats it. Google clearly has a solid plan to capture the biggest consumer market in this world. Its only a matter of time before we come to know the real stategy.
Its going to be unfold soon…
I am waiting Google…
Bala 9:19 am on October 3, 2006 Permalink |
I was at the google contest venue at a’bad. I agree with most of what John Mathew says, except that the calls from google HR are supposed to be independent of the contest results. i liked the presentation on google itself, which was a nice brief one.
There were people who hoped to write in english, creatively no less, but failed to understand simple instructions like switching off their cellphones!
It was a good concept for a contest and it was encouraging to see the turnout, especially the number of older people. I was also deceived into believing that i was one of the early 300 registrants. google needs to clear that up in future. overall a nice experience. lets see what 30/10 brings.
Harshad Joshi 1:25 pm on October 3, 2006 Permalink |
Yes you are right.
Many people did forget to switch off their mobiles. Even I was amongst them
Google WM was indeed a unique and challenging experience.
Raj Kumar Hansdah 7:10 am on October 4, 2006 Permalink |
I was @ Kolkata. My GOOGLE goodie bag did not contain the key chain. Lets hear from other participants at the venue (I wasn’t too curious to look inside theirs )
It was great FUN, especially the doubts raised by the participants ! I felt I was back in my school English class, having regressed (or grown) to Harry’s age.
About the Essay, I was so focussed on my piece, that I managed to do it in a CRISP, concise 110 words. Then, later I tried to expand it to at least 150 by APPENDING some sentences. Before I coul finish the latter task, the warning bell had rung, and I started jotting down hurriedly on the fair sheet, whatever I had scribbled on the draft.
The ultimate result would be for the GOOGLERS to judge; but who dares stops me from dreaming that I won… by a wide margin….
Thats it folks, do share your experiences…..t
Harshad Joshi 7:54 am on October 4, 2006 Permalink |
The goodie bag was a hit..
Google strategy worked..
Salim 3:18 am on October 6, 2006 Permalink |
Yup Harshad, the goody bag was a nice strategy by google to get its brand even more noticeable. Mr. Hansdoh, my bag did NOT contain the keychain as well, so u r not alone
Salim 3:22 am on October 6, 2006 Permalink |
One more thing… the deadline of 45 minutes was not adhered to strictly as when I submitted my paper at the end of 45 mins, there were still people scribbing away merrily for a good 10 mins more with some lame warnings from the google staff. Cheating cheating… boo hoo hooo…
Harshad Joshi 4:37 am on October 6, 2006 Permalink |
Hey, it wasent SSC/HSC board exam and their poorly paid staff. It was Google. Expect them to be linient..
Raj Kumar Hansdah 8:21 pm on October 10, 2006 Permalink |
Thanks ppl for all ur responses.
So, I wasn’t the only one bereft og Google key chain !
And yeah, it did bug me v. much to see many participants at the back seats merrily scribbling away for at least 10 minutes after the end of session. Actually the Googlers were blocked by curious participants quizzing them about results, prizes etc.; thus preventing them from collecting the papers.
I wish the papers of late submitters be cancelled or penalized.
Lets wait till Oct. 30th !!
Harshad Joshi 3:48 am on October 11, 2006 Permalink |
I bet that the LLB’s(Lords of the Last Bench) will not win the prize. Winners dont need extra time to finish their papers.
The winner will be definately an exceptional and good writer. Of course, Google is going to have a lot of tough time in deciding the winner, because there is no shortage of good writers here..
So, lets wait for 30 October 2006, the day when Google shows us who the ‘real’ Wordmaster is..
(Waiting to be there…)
Deepa 7:32 am on October 18, 2006 Permalink |
I too took the wordmasters challenge. With all the hype with which the Google conducted this event they could have organised it more professionallly. Do not know how reliable thier selection process will be. I noticed in Chennai, that there were many in the age group of above 50 and 60. If they turn up as winners will Google recruit them?!
Harshad Joshi 8:13 am on October 18, 2006 Permalink |
@Deepa
Oops, it seems those blokes might have forgotten to tell you this that Google Wordmasters 2006 and Google recruitment have got no relation with each other.
Simply said – Winning Wordmaster dosent mean that Google is gonna employ you. To get into Google, one needs qualifications that Google is searching for. Thats it.
But unfortunately, many people misunderstood the Wordmaster challenge as a way to get into Google.
Sigh…if that was the way things turn, I would have been a king by now..
Anyway, 30 oct 2006 isent too far…Lets wait and watch..
dilettante 9:21 am on October 18, 2006 Permalink |
I was at the A’bad venue, but am from Baroda.
I came to check the scene out. I teach creative writing (in English), and wondered how good a scope there is to pursue this field- is there enough interest in people to learn how to write professionally.
Judging by the numbers at the A’bad venue- there are quite a few wannabes.
Harshad Joshi 11:36 am on October 18, 2006 Permalink |
@dilettante
This isent a marketting or bussiness blog.
Anyway, nice to know you.
dilettante 5:01 pm on October 18, 2006 Permalink |
hi! harshad..
first off, sorry, but i didnt have the marketing angle in mind. We end up teaching creative writing for free mostly.
We help kids and teens/ adult who cant find teachers , or cant afford books or tuitions on the subject- with their passion for writing and poetry.
we also help like minded people to help kids in their area.
I just stumbled on this blog and asked instinctively, without explaining my intentions.
once again my apologies. tc. good site.
Harshad Joshi 5:52 pm on October 18, 2006 Permalink |
@dilettante
Hey..theres no need to apologize..
I had to edit your comments, because of our policy. Its very simple one – We just edit some part of comments, which can possibley divulge personal information like email address, work address or details, personal or political views etc. By doing this, we prevent email spammers/leechers and malicious minded blokes who sniff round the web for data. Unfortunately, as of now, this is the only method that works well.
And Akismet too..
Similarly, there are some guys who make use of this facility to market their personal site or blog. Unless we are sure of what content that site has, we dont provide a link to it.
So, its necessary to do all these things to enable readers a rich experience with the right content, without any possible distraction. No ads, no personal info required. Thats what makes us the user preferred option..
neha sathaye 5:14 am on October 25, 2006 Permalink |
wow…..what an experience!
i would like to congratulate the google team for carrying forward a competition of this sort!
my experience was quite a thrilling one…..
i was not in town a day before the competition and landed the city the same day, and while heading the destination realised tht had no pen to write……. “can you beat it, a writer going without a pen to write volumes”
that was the day i realised that there are few shops in the city that sell pens…..god gracious, i was on time….
after all that rush….google gave me a good goody bag…..which had something that made me smile…..it had “a BIG BOLD pen”…..ha ha what more i could have asked for?
an experience with excitement to the fullest, i would be extremely thankful to google for a platform to the writers in india…..we need such recognition!
and would be more thankful if my dream to win the winners place would come true…….
“Dare to Dream Big to Live Big”
Narcissa 1:08 pm on October 29, 2006 Permalink |
Does anyone, anyone at all, know if derivatives were allowed? I mean tenses and forms of the words given… because when I asked at the venue, I was told they were. And then I come across this blogger who says they were strictly forbidden.
Harshad Joshi 1:35 pm on October 29, 2006 Permalink |
@Narcissa
With less then 24 hours left for the announcement of Google Wordmasters 2006 champ, I guess this question and any answer to it would be insignificant.
Raj Kumar Hansdah 6:09 pm on October 29, 2006 Permalink |
waitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing for the results….
dilettante 7:47 pm on October 29, 2006 Permalink |
@RAJ KUMAR H
yeahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! results tonight! …………..
i was just comparing the ‘angst’ we are going thro compared to the Lil CHAMPS contest yesterday.
those kids and mostly the parents) would know what ‘results’ mean.
of course,,, exams are the benchmark in nailbiting waits- but that contest beats anything we’ve been thro to a pulp, and how.
still .. may the besst googler win. (i wonder if those having gmail Ids will have any kind of bearing on the contest…. oh dont you wish now you’d have taken up on that invite.)
see you after the results for the inevitable bitching.
amit 6:07 am on October 30, 2006 Permalink |
what time are the results coming out
what website
charuta 6:30 am on October 30, 2006 Permalink |
Hi! please anyone who features in the Google results, do leave a message on this page!
Waiting for the results!
ravi 9:04 am on October 30, 2006 Permalink |
“Everything was over long back” “Whatever has to happen will happen” You won’t win because you are good. You will win coz someone else is not better than you, and all the someone elses are waiting too, so just relax. If u win, ull know only when ur supposed to know. Dont be anxious. Anxiety is an enemy of creativity.
Harshad Joshi 9:34 am on October 30, 2006 Permalink |
Huh..what was that?
Hey dudes, dont worry. Google will mail you if you are the winner.
Jyoti 9:40 am on October 30, 2006 Permalink |
What are the results of google wordmasters???? I have searched it through google but unable to find!!!! Anyone can help???
Arshiya 10:33 am on October 30, 2006 Permalink |
Hi..if anyone knows, has google declared the results?
Sayan 1:15 pm on October 30, 2006 Permalink |
Hi,
Any Idea of the results? Have tried my best but no info as yet.
Harshad Joshi 2:49 pm on October 30, 2006 Permalink |
Pooky 3:19 pm on October 30, 2006 Permalink |
Hi,
It’s now night of the 30th and still no results. They should at least tell you that you didn’t win, because the anxiety is driving me NUTS!! Will the winner please tell me that I’m not it. Also, please leave an address (so that I can tear him to bits).
Harshad Joshi 3:32 pm on October 30, 2006 Permalink |
The name of the winners may be obtained by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Google India Pvt. Ltd., Prestige Sigma, No.3, Vittal Mallya Road, Bangalore 560001.
S.K. 5:58 pm on October 30, 2006 Permalink |
Hey Guyz!
BINGO! I knew that I can do it and I have actually done it!!! Oh boyz, I am top of this world…. But just to let you all know, google have not hired me yet… It has just gifted me a maruti SWIFT!!!
Thanks for all your appreciations and wishes…
For those who didn’t win, better luck next time!
S.K.
Sayan 6:16 pm on October 30, 2006 Permalink |
Hey Dude,
Congrats ! Can u share with us the mode of communication that Google preferred to reveal this secret?
amit 9:34 pm on October 30, 2006 Permalink |
dude SK, congrats.
how did u get to know?
Allan D'Souza 4:55 am on October 31, 2006 Permalink |
It was a great contest! Briallintly contrived by a bunch of whiz kids, I must say. Proud to have been a participant. But when are the results due? It’s already way past 30th Oct?
Allan D'Souza 4:56 am on October 31, 2006 Permalink |
It was a brilliant contes, I must say. Brilliantly contrived by a bunch of whiz kids. But when are the results due? It’s already way past the deadline. I though all participants were gonna be informed via email?
Arshiya 5:05 am on October 31, 2006 Permalink |
Hey SK congratulations!!! How did u get to know about the result. Did the google guys call u
Afterjoseph 6:52 am on October 31, 2006 Permalink |
Can anyone else confirm this? Is there news regarding winners from any other city?
Hari Menon 8:34 am on October 31, 2006 Permalink |
[Narcissa:] Does anyone, anyone at all, know if derivatives were allowed?
At the Bombay venue, this was asked by someone, and the organisers’ response (after a bit of confusion) was: yes, derivatives of words are permitted. So I went ahead and used a few. It was a risk though — you know how clueless organisers can be.
As for “SK”, the purported winner of the Swift, I find it strange that such a marvellous prize went unannounced in the media. Don’t tell me Google’s PR team is this bad?
maits 12:58 pm on October 31, 2006 Permalink |
it may seem like the sour grapes whine (not ‘wine’)… but i sure hope this guy s.k’s essay wasnt as badly written as his comment here. if otherwise, you can only shake your head over google’s falling standards. sigh….
Harshad Joshi 1:03 pm on October 31, 2006 Permalink |
I wanna read that esay.
Narcissa 1:09 pm on October 31, 2006 Permalink |
S.K.’s comment is full of grammatical inaccuracies. Does anyone know where Google has put up the results for the Wordmasters challenge?
Sayan 1:51 pm on October 31, 2006 Permalink |
Hi Everyone,
Any Idea of which corner of the earth are the results located ? Trust me, Google is only good in the virtual world. I am sure it “sucks” in reality. Sorry to use the word Harshad, but its really frustrating to be a part of this events….esp. after spending so much energy and time in creation….when u don’t know the result….I am sure you would agree with me.
All the Best Everyone
Harshad Joshi 2:34 pm on October 31, 2006 Permalink |
@Sayan
Hey dude..never feel sorry to use the word Harshad
Harshad means ‘The giver of joy’ aka ‘The Remover of Sorrow’. So, never worry about any difficult situation in life. There is always a Harshad around you, who can always help you in any kind of situation.
Just try finding him once
Harshad Joshi 2:36 pm on October 31, 2006 Permalink |
BTW, the results are located in Google India HQ, Bangalore. Its address can be located somewhere in the comments section.
Sayan 2:56 pm on October 31, 2006 Permalink |
That was quite motivating.
S.K. 6:34 pm on October 31, 2006 Permalink |
Hey guyz! just take a chill pill…i was kidding…just wanted to add some more volumes to the curiosity among the blog readers. btw, i am not that lucky to top around 3000 contestants in India (Read: lucky)…as I believe that anyone’s potential can’t be measured with just a 45 mins of hassled competition organized by confused nerds of Google…
hey Harshad, thanks for your mail dude…:)….neways, i am also one those curious ‘janta’, who wants to know the actual results of Wordmaster…ANYBODY THERE??? cheerz!
Pallavi 7:11 pm on October 31, 2006 Permalink |
hey everybody,
i was wondering how the results will be out… does anybody know whether the google ppl have told the non winners that the results are ….. whatever?
because i did not get any mail in my mail box
BTW…. the comments here are very good
amit 12:30 am on November 1, 2006 Permalink |
Ok, friends, Googlers, countrymen, since Google hasn’t been able to decide, what do you think of the following essay? I think, in all modesty, that this would be better than Ass Kay’s.
It is absurd and weird that men are better than horses because of their horse sense. What if the horses imagine an impossible scene of making men ‘had been; what if they put on their thinking hats, and go inside a box to analyze phenomena, to experiment, to create? Their inquisitive faculties, incisive observations, and horse power and energy might just rein in all the luck, and give them the right direction. You never know! When they come out of the box, they might just say ‘ Eureka’! Archimedes had discovered the principle of floating, they might discover principles of emoting, doting, gloating all of which are vanishing from the human race. Swift had written about this in Gulliver’s Travels . Hyounyms were master horses, Yahoos were slave men. You don’t think it’s practical? Did anyone think that a djinn called Google would be possible? Now we know why Google overrides Yahoo. The horse power may cause men-o-pause. It’s time to give up?
Time to think out of the box?
What do you think of this innovation?
I think it rocks.
I have put on all my thinking hats and socks!
Pooky 3:33 am on November 1, 2006 Permalink |
I’m back people.
I find it hard to believe that this S.K character has actually won. Maybe he didn’t reveal much because of my last threat (heh heh), or maybe he’s just pulling our legs.
In any case, I always expected that GOOGLE, the God of the Internet (or at least one of the candidates for that post), would publish the resuts ONLINE, instead of having ME send a SELF-ADDRESSED ENVELOPE to their office in Bangalore. No wonder they call it BANG-A-LORE, what with all that story of smokes and mirrors in the package.
By the way, if any winner is worried, then for their info I’m from M.P. So it’s unlikely that I can harm them in any other city.