Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra admits she has a fetish for collecting watches and latest gadgets. She is quick to switch mobile phones, as fast as they are launched. But it is social networking applications like Twitter that she is addicted to the most, even while she’s on the move.
Will it be right to say that your mobile phone is your best friend?
I am a gadget freak and my friends call me a “geek’s fantasy”. That should tell you how I am known among my friend and family circles. I got my first mobile phone at the age of 17, when I won the Miss India title. It was a Nokia phone from my dad, so that I could stay connected to my family while I was on foreign assignments. Thus began my love for mobile phones. I can safely say I have used most of the handsets that are launched and, at present, I am hooked to the Nokia N8.
So, have you logged off your laptops now?
Not exactly. I use my laptop once in a while since I cannot carry a laptop all the time. It is the mobile phone that comes handy. Be it for uploading pictures, sharing files with friends or even reading micro-scripts on emails — I do it all on my smartphones. Honestly speaking, I can be dubbed someone who suffers from ‘I-look-at-my-phone-every-three-seconds’ to check on calls, SMS, email.
Tell us more about the apps you use the most?
As you know, I am a big Twitter freak and, at last count, there were about 700,000 fans following my tweets. There’s barely a day when I don’t have the urge to click images (when I’m outdoors on shoot or just chilling at home) and upload it to Twitter, Facebook and Orkut. I don’t even remember when was the last time I used a proper camera to do this. It’s all about taking the phone out, capturing the image and uploading it to the website or emailing it. For me, Twitter and emails remain the most critical apps today.
It is quite evident social interaction for you doesn’t end at Twitter or Facebook. What convinced you to start your voice blogs and live chats?
One of the biggest benefits of being comfortable with technology is that I can do things differently. I will be sharing my life off-camera over a voice blog, will have an exclusive YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/priyankachopra and will also host an interactive voice-chat service in which I can interact with fans on a one-to-one basis. The voice blogs can be accessed by dialling *5111* from any mobile phone. I am working with UTV Interactive for these innovative, unexplored platforms. With the imminent launch of 3G services, I believe these services will kick off in a big way.
You already have a website. With these initiatives, how will you ensure that each platform gets its content?
My website – www.iampriyankachopra.com – was created to make myself accessible and it’s still there. My team and I manage the content for the site. We have now added a download section where fans can download ringtones that have been created by me. Voice blogs are easy and I should be able to do those from my mobile device, even while out on shoots.