Blog, Tweet and Facebook about me
Well, as the legend goes, when you ask Rajini Sir what time it is, he doesn’t tell you what time it is, he decides what time it is. So obviously when a character with unprecedented mass appeal and pan-India goodwill was needed for the country’s first online scrollable comic, he was an indubitable choice.
Interactive storytelling to market an idea or a business is not a new concept, especially on the Internet, and for long it has been used by various websites in Europe and America. But in India the concept is being introduced for the first time by the promoters of ShoutOut, a website dedicated to empowering Indian consumers by providing them a platform to voice their opinion.
ShoutOut is literally a start up website conceived, developed and promoted by a couple of techies who have literally set up their business out of a garage. As financial constraints and resource crunches often give rise to innovative ideas, the duo has decided to use social networking and innovative technology to their advantage. In order to minimise cost and avail the best quality talent they have copiously used freelancers from all over India to create an idea that not only entertains and amuses, but also delivers the core message with a punch.
The ShoutOut scrollable comic has totally been tailored according to the Indian cityscape, the subtle nuances and even the roadblocks, the auto rickshaws, the electric poles and potholes that we encounter during our day-to-day experiences outside. As a realistic touch Mr Rajinikanth is even almost run over by a “Rascala” cabdriver..
The comic has a very tightly packed storyline with Rajinikanth being the metaphorical superhero armed with well-founded information. During his walk through various Indian streets he passes by different businesses and billboards and whenever he comes across them, he can immediately recall how many complaints and grievances people have registered against them. For instance, when he sees the Nokia billboard he says, “Most popular phone in India! I know you have 1569 complaints”, and so on. To make sure, you don’t miss the relevant information, if, while scrolling, Rajini Sir misses a business or a billboard, you immediately encounter a ShoutOut billboard saying, “Hope you read the previous message?”
Eventually with a fleeting somersault action quintessentially identified with the theatrical antics of the hero, he lands on the final platform, stands next to the ShoutOut logo and says, “My source of information”, pointing at the logo. It basically means ShoutOut gives you unparalleled power that makes you as exceptional and unbeatable as Rijini Sir. When you use ShoutOut its you who wield the power and not the big businesses, because you can influence other consumers and customers and hit the businesses where it hurts the most.
But why, you may ask, a scrollable comic instead of a simple message that you can read at your own leisure? A picture is worth a 1000 words and add a little bit of interaction and you make an indelible mark. While experiencing scrollable comic one is totally engrossed. The Internet brims with myriad distractions and a scrollable comic is the best way of keeping visitors focused. The visuals, the central character, the various events and the decisions that you have to take, keep you engaged all the time and by the time you reach the end, your mind is totally ready to receive the central message of the comic.
The comic interface has been prepared using HTML 5 – the latest web development technology that doesn’t require Flash and other plug-ins in order to publish interactive content on the Internet. Among the greatest benefits of HTML 5 are that it is a great development platform for mobile devices (by 2014 mobile Internet usage will overtake desktop Internet usage in India), applications can be quickly developed and deployed and dynamic data can be stored locally on the client side to speed up cloud-based applications. This means you can experience the ShoutOut scrollable comic extremely fast and smoothly without encountering “buffer” times.
Aside from being accessible through all contemporary browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Opera and Internet Explorer, the comic can be viewed using all major devices and gadgets that can hook onto the Internet such as computers, notebooks, tablet computers and smart phones like the iPhone and the Android-powered phones.
With this scrollable ShoutOut a new era of online communication begins where the visitors decide how they want to consume promotional content and what storyline they want to follow. There is another thing that makes this scrollable comic highly unique; aside from being an innovative graphic novel style presentation, this comic has been entirely conceived and developed by Indian web designers, graphic artists, programmers and copywriters. For the first time a group of purely Indian web entrepreneurs have created a cutting-edge piece of art using local resources and talents.
The inherent message of the comic is that the right information and the right resources can turn you into an extraordinarily powerful person like Rajinikanth. He can scare off the big businesses and major brands simply by knowing how many complaints they have against them and what decisions people are making after becoming aware of these complaints. Businesses that provide shoddy services strive on lack of information and communication. ShoutOut bridges this gap by conveying the right message through a well-known and adored hero. 
Credits
Concept - Inspired by BenTheBodyGuard
Bringing Rajini on screen - Creative, artist Shanil CV
Giving Rajini life on HTML - Development Guru Igor