What is Marketing?

Finally, I have some real life examples which emphasize the various aspects of the subject I'm trying to master. Often times, I've been at a loss when others go

"Dude, Marketing eh?Pretty cool I say, but what is marketing?.".
and then there's the usual 'oh!!you sell soaps'(I'm tired of that joke now).Lets go beyond soap in to something of 'greater' interest. So here are some enlightening insights in to the field.

You see a beautiful girl at a party. You go up to her and say, "I'm fantastic in bed."
- That's Direct Marketing.

You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a beautiful girl.
One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says, "He's fantastic in bed."
- That's Advertising.

You see a beautiful girl at a party. You go up to her and get her telephone number. The next day you call and say, "Hi, I'm fantastic in bed."
- That's Telemarketing.

This one's highly unlikely, buts suits the purpose!!

You're at a party and see a beautiful girl. She gets up straightens her dress, walks up to you and pours you a drink. She says, "May I," and reaches up to straighten your tie brushing herself slightly against your arm, and then says, "By the way, I'm fantastic in bed."
- That's Public Relations.

You're at a party and see a beautiful girl. She walks up to you and says,
"I hear you're fantastic in bed."
- That's Brand Recognition.

You're at a party and see a beautiful girl. You talk her into going home with your friend.
- That's a Sales Rep.

Your friend can't keep her entertained so he calls you.
- That's Tech Support.

You're on your way to a party when you realize that there could be beautiful women in all these houses you're passing. So you climb onto the roof of one situated toward the center and shout at the top of your lungs, "I'm fantastic in bed!"
- That's Spam.

Thats Marketing in a nutshell!!

Shattered Myths!!

"A myth, in its simplest definition, is a story with a meaning attached to it other than it seems to have at first; and the fact that it has such a meaning is generally marked by some of its circumstances being extraordinary, or, in the common use of the word, unnatural."
-John Ruskin.

I was a strong believer in Mythology, and would still have been, if not for that fateful meeting with a Greek. I'd recently watched the movie 'Troy' and was quite upset about the distortion of 'facts' in the movie. I complained to my greek friend about this and the explanation that he gave has 'deeply' disturbed my beliefs in almost everthing that I'd ever beleived.

The greek dismissed Homer's 'Illiad' as a book written for entertainment, and argued that except for the fact that the greeks attacked troy, nothing was actually beleived to be true. No 'Almost Immortal' Achilles, No 'divine' Helen, No nothing. Although, I'm forced to agree that some of the facts have been distorted, I just cannot accept that nothing ever took place.

Ok fine, Greek mythology can remain as 'Mythology', but our own Mahabharata and Ramayana which reflect Indian ethos in totality did happen right?. So I ask my friend about it, just to make sure that it happened. And he says

'Now, don't tell me that you actually beleived in blue-colored Mr.Krishna'....and my world comes crashing down on me!!. And since then all I've heard is
A->'There are many theories'..
B->'Nah!!They're just stories that have a moral'.
C->' They found Tutankhmen's body..not krishna's'!!.

If all this is false, and just some stories that people made up just for the heck of it?. Was there a Jesus?.Or a Mohammed?. or were they all stories too?.
Uh!Oh!What have I gotten myself in to?