For the second time this month, I wished someone ahead of time. Very few people had wished me on my birthday last year. So, I decided to wish as many people as I could this year on their birthday / marriage anniversary / lost-their-virginity anniversary / whatever.
I am a compulsive Facebook and Orkut checker every morning. And both these sites helpfully offer you reminders about your friends' birthdays. So I started wishing everyone whose birthday showed up. I have this nifty little Keynote file that allows you to design simple cards using custom images and custom messages. In under a minute I would be done designing and sending a card. Many people who did not expect me to wish them were quite pleasantly surprised that I wished them.
A couple of weeks back, during my ritual checking of birthdays for the day one morning, I noticed on Facebook that it was my friend LN's birthday. Promptly, I did my stuff, opened up the Keynote file and created the card and sent it.
A couple of hours later, to my shock and dismay, I got an email from LN thanking me for the wishes, adding however that it was not his birthday! What was the wrong date doing on Facebook, I enquired? He said he did not know how the wrong date got there. But promised to change it soon.
A couple of days back, exactly the same thing - with another friend called Shravan. Facebook 'reminded' me of the birthday. I designed the card and sent it only to be told that the birthday was actually next month.
So much for making an effort! Kartik removed his birthdate from his social networking profiles. He says only those who actually remember his birthday should wish him (hint, hint!). That way, I will end up not wishing anyone! I hope no one follows his advice atleast on this!
While on birthdays, you must check out the site Greetos. It is an excellent site where you can design your own card and send it. Much better than the one-size-fits-all solution. They have an excellent collection of images and animated graphics which can really make a unique and attractive card.
Comments
I do the same. If no one wishes, I would not mind buying a cake for him on his bay. ;)
More over i have another gud trick which reminds you abt the b'day of you pals. Just tag his b'day to his record in your mobile phone book something like "Ramakrishna Jan'12". So when ever that person calls you or you call that person it acts like a reminder. Ofcoz this works out only if u both are in regular contact or u are like me who browse thru the phonebook regularly :)