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This will be my last response in this thread - I don't wish to troll / waste my resources on an argument that doesn't deserve them. >why the bitterness Becaus

This will be my last response in this thread - I don't wish to troll / waste my resources on an argument that doesn't deserve them. >why the bitterness Because I'm yet to see a more primed-for-PR CSR initiative. At least from a startup. Much as I'd like to perceive it as being well-intentioned, it smacks of being the brainchild of a PR agency ("snapdeal.com Nagar" anyone?), which is all kinds of wrong. I'd have been just as indignant if it were Groupon or Facebook that pulled this off. >their action is "unexpected" and perhaps more newsworthy as a result There's a not-so-fine-line between innovative PR and inappropriate opportunism, and a responsible company would know better than to cross it. And that's the beauty of this issue - you're damned if you take a stand against it, because "they did help a poor village after all". If, as a business, you really wish to be an ameliorating influence, do it quietly - don't pimp poverty for PR. There are always other ways to grab eyeballs. >as a fellow Indian (Indian-American), I always find it curious and somewhat unfortunate that there is a contingent of "the tribe" that can't just be happy when others in the "the tribe" do well. That I'm afraid, is the classic ad hominem. Please read the parent comment once again and point out one instance where I've expressed disdain or envy for the company / the founder's success. As I've already said, I'd have been just as enraged had this been any other company from any other country. That you would confuse indignation at a dodgy PR stunt with envy for a fellow Indian baffles me.

asanwal 15y ago
Guess just a difference of perspectives. It's unfortunate that you're willing to impugn this entire sequence of events and everyone involved despite having no real evidence that this was in fact done for PR. But even if it was an elaborate PR effort, there is nothing wrong with enlightened self-interest. CSR activities of all types by mega-, large and small corporations can all be viewed with such cynicism, but if an article on a website and some more visitors to Snapdeal is what it takes to impact some positive change (water to a village), that sounds like a net positive.

asanwal 15y ago

Guess just a difference of perspectives. It's unfortunate that you're willing to impugn this entire sequence of events and everyone involved despite having no real evidence that this was in fact done for PR. But even if it was an elaborate PR effort, there is nothing wrong with enlightened self-interest. CSR activities of all types by mega-, large and small corporations can all be viewed with such cynicism, but if an article on a website and some more visitors to Snapdeal is what it takes to impact some positive change (water to a village), that sounds like a net positive.