Category: India

  • So, who else wants to be social?

    A few weeks back, I’d read about the New York Times launching the public beta of its social network. Its called Times People, but is not a Facebook kind of social network. It allows you to discover, read, share and comment on interesting things on NYTimes.com. The account is directly linked to the NYTimes.com account, so a user is logged in to the service as soon as he logs in to NYTimes. The activities the user does is stored on a personal page, and there’s even a Facebook application, which allows the activities to be displayed in the Fb mini feeds. Given WSJ’s foray into social networking, its interesting to see NYTimes becoming social , but i personally think a service like Social Median, which allows multiple sources of news, subscribing to different channels that one is interested in, and a tool bar plugin which allows sharing of content as you browse, is much more community friendly and useful.

    Meanwhile, I read today that the latest player to enter the world of social networking is none other than IBM. It has launched a service called Bluehouse,  and is an online collaboration network. It allows users to host meetings, network wih partners, share files, start surveys and so on. There are several sites which allow many of these services in isolation, do you know a service which allows all of the above? (via Inquisitr)

    We are not far behind. I read an article about India Konnects, (about whom I had written about earlier) which is creating communities exclusively for industries and companies in India. It is also planning to launch city-specific and business-specific communities, and is starting with an online networking portal exclusively for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Gujarat.

    So, three different entities from three different categories working on three diverse social/business networking models.

    until next time, man is after all, a social animal

  • The In thing

    A few days back, I had written about wanting to see an internet entity’s brand campaign. And within a few days, as if on demand, the in.com TV commercials started appearing. In case, you haven’t chanced upon them yet, take a look here, and here. These two have highlighted two aspects of in.com – music and gaming. The others are news, mail, search and videos. The ads throw up stats of users who have been enjoying these services.

    Though my first brush with them left me highly dissatisfied, I have always liked the vertical properties they have built up over a period of time. I use Money Control and Compare India quite a lot, but that’s only 2 of the entire set that includes IBNLive, Biztech2, Storeguru, IndiWo, Bookmyshow, Yatra, Jobstreet, Cricketnext, Poweryourtrade, commodities control, Tech2, Buzz18 and Josh18. While I sometimes feel that a few of the properties overlap hugely on the service they provide and the target audience, it is quite a formidable line up. And perhaps that is what led to their reach being higher than that of the Times Group’s internet properties and only behind Rediff’s as far as Indian entities go. According to this article, In.com is already #7 in India’s portals list, and is planning to have job search, real estate search and bars and nightclubs search. Here’s an interesting post that throws some new light on those numbers.

    The site is quite different from the other portals, perhaps because of the rich interface, and, at a basic level is a massive meta-aggregator, which collects news from its own services as well as other prominent sites. To this is added a structure that builds in crowd choices, and all this creates great differentiation. The ‘reverse’ strategy of building verticals (sub brands) and then aggregating (flagship brand) is interesting, but unlike what I’ve seen in a few banners, I think “India’s homepage” is still rediff, and it will take some effort from Network 18 to topple it from that place. Its a simple recall factor, I am so used to rediff.

    Meanwhile, they are doing a lot of interesting things by way of association. The Bigg Boss tie up result is a great example, which to me is also a pointer towards some smart integration thoughts – Colors, on which Bigg Boss airs, is after all, a Viacom 18 channel. The other smart integration is MTV’s Youth Icon, MTV being another Viacom 18 venture. If this is done on a continuous basis, with more network channels, and a bit more push is given (in context) on the channels, I think In.com has a great future ahead. Will Roadies 6.0 will get to play a part soon?

    I also wonder what the role of the email service will be, after all, Rediff’s popularity was based a lot on that. It definitely has some very good features. Other than a 10 GB mailbox, linked messages, and the now common friends import from other mail services, it gives a ‘social’ touch to the service by allowing the user to share and promote content,  rate and comment on stories, add feeds and bookmarks, thereby making a customised ‘start’ page for life on the net. It is quite tempting, when compared to many other services. 🙂 But again, the lethargy factor is quite strong here. GMail and GTalk is so ingrained into my virtual life!!

    But in spite of all that, In.com has great potential as a horizontal portal and if they can continue the integration with their mass media properties and provide good service on the net, there’s no reason that they should not replace Rediff as India’s premium internet home brand, and set a benchmark on how the same entity can be a cutting edge player in traditional and new media.

    until next time, I’m in 🙂

  • Tele Visions

    Its been a while since I saw impressive ads on the tube, and that added to the negligence towards the brands’ part of the blog. So, here’s a look at three recent television commercials that had my attention, in an increasing order of liking.

    Chlormint created a very viral term with their ad sometime back-Dobara Mat Poochna. Even the co brandedad with Nokia was quite good. The ads that followed, whether it was a different rendition of the same line, the one pitching it as the anytime mint, the one that launched the new flavour, or using the old line for fresh fills, tried to keep the tone intact. But, though that was managed fairly well, none of them could match the popularity of the original. So the latest Panwaadi ad was a pleasant surprise. It actually reminded me of the old Happydent ad‘s way of storytelling – a very roundabout yet funny way of communicating a message – in this case making the mint a conscious choice for the consumer, and not accepting what the shopkeeper gives him by default. Vijay Raaz, i thought, was perfect for the narrator role. So, in effect, a comeback of sorts for Chlormint.

    From the time of Sanju, I’ve noticed Max New York’s advertising somehow breaking the category clutter. Thelatest one is no exception, as the idea of things coming full circle is caught neatly. The simple thought is of us always wanting more, and the tagline of ‘Karo Zyaada ka Iraada’ is caught well in their other commercialtoo, this one for child plans. In fact what they managed to get the kid to do in this commercial is simply awesome. For those who watch Bigg Boss, you might have noticed their logo adorning the ‘Shandaar budget’ board. If you think of it, its quite a neat association, albeit in a very subtle way. The budget is always less, and the inmates always want more, a perfect fit for the tagline.

    And I was saving the best for the last – Tata Tea’s Jaago re commercial. There was a kind of starter ad earlier, which had the same idea – converting the tea’s ‘wake up’ role to an awakening one, though it wasn’t as impressive. But that’s fine because they have scored with this ad, and how!! A lot of brands make TVCs that espouse noble intentions, but nothing much is achieved after that. We see, we sometimes think, we move on, and brands smugly recount ‘making a difference’ films, which are nothing but lip service. But this initiative gives us the opportunity to go further. Check out their site, which is extremely friendly in terms of communication style. It tackles the FAQs, takes you on a tour of the entire process (including a cool video demo), gives you the paperwork guidance and the details of where you should take them, and in short, does what a responsible state would do. You can also register on the site, and get updates on your voter registration status, voting and election news, and election day reminders. Just awesome. And boy, they don’t stop at that. There is a Facebook group which already has over 800 members, and judging from the way my friends are joining, its not a viral, its a damn epidemic!! This is a campaign with tremendous potential, and for the sake of everyone and everything concerned, i want it to work.

    until next time, wake up !!

  • Crowdsourced Startups

    To confess, the thought originated more from a textual perspective than a conceptual one. But it made me think, and so I shared it on twitter a couple of days back – “do many startups fail because they start up? would it be better if they start down and work their way up?” While I’ll not get judgmental about startups, their reasons for existence and what they strive for, I’ll just stick my neck out for a second and say that the BOSS (Build, Operate, Sell Stake) model is probably the most popular. I wonder if that says anything about the intent.

    Meanwhile, that tweet and Rang De, about which i had written recently (and have promised to try out in the near future) made me think whether a crowd sourced investment model is possible for start ups. Its a well known fact that Venture Capitalists and angel investors have their own criteria for judging startups and investing in them. So some startups get funded, some don’t. But what if I, as a user believe in the concept of a start up and am willing to invest in it? Now, as an individual, I will not have the million $ funding the start up needs for its expansion, but what about a large bunch of individuals like me? Individuals who could invest 5-6 figure sums and could possibly earn some good returns if the idea succeeds. Build in tagging, communities, and a Digg like rating structure and perhaps the VC type of investors could start using this to gauge the popularity potential of a start up. What if the powers of social media can be applied by those who use it most to  encourage the entities that want to build businesses out of it?

    There are two things that would be important to address – one is the legal and regulatory aspect – whether such a structure can exist, and the other is the trust factor -we shouldn’t have a potential startup running away with the money. But with all the hype about web 2.0 and trust being an important part of it, if we can’t ensure that, perhaps we’re all going wrong somewhere.

    until next time, what is the massive loophole you see in this?

  • The new brand ambassador – you

    Sometime back, I saw a press release of an entity called AdBhai. It is positioned as a no-frills classifieds portal and according to the release, has implemented Google’s Friend Connect. It means that you can use your Orkut/GTalk id to post comments on the site, giving the entire thing a social twist.

    I have come across quite a few interesting sites which link shopping to social media. There’s Tribe Smart, which allows you to make a profile and use crowd wisdom to know about the product. And its not just a product, it could be a website, a movie. In the process, you end up meeting people who share similar interests. Skimbit is a browser add on that allows you to make a project page you can configure, for your purchase, add products from different sites, and then allow others to rate these.  Another startup working on a plugin based model is Notches, which works on two fronts – allows product sites that tie up with it to add review buttons to its product pages, and users who have downloaded it can review any product from any website. (via Center Networks) Meanwhile, there’s a very interesting online music sale model at PopCuts, which rewards you for spotting trends early. You can buy a track, and when someone buys it from then on, you get a cut. A very cool idea, I thought, and would like to see how it pans out. Just like the earlier site, you start meeting people who rock to the same tune.

    Mashable has written about a widget based service called TurnTo, which works on the concept of social shopping. Deviating from the path of the above two, this one lets you add people from your existing circle of friends. During TC 50, which I’d written about earlier, a couple of startups working in the social shopping/reccomendation space were showcased. One was GoodRec, which shows users reccomendations of restaurants, books, movies nightlife, and displays the location on a map. It allows you to make reccomendations, which can also be shared on Twitter, Facebook, Friendfeed etc. According to StartupMeme, GoodRec scores over the existing player – Yelp, in terms of usability. Another player, who is into ‘social’ based decision making is CityVoter, which ‘allows insiders who know a city best to share their insight with information, ratings, and reviews on everyday decisions’.The other startup is GoodGuide, which aims to provide users with information on social, environmental, and health related aspects of consumer products. With people becoming increasingly aware and conscious of the environment and the impact of their lifestyle on it, this is a good space to be, especially because of the clutter of ‘green’ goods that have been hitting the market. You can read more details on them here.

    WOM is no longer a buzzword, it has become a fact of life, if not in ‘low involvement’ categories, at least in ‘high involvement’ ones. Amazon has recently been using passionate Kindle users as brand ambassadors.We are on our way to what this post (quoting from a report) very correctly describes as an ‘influence economy’. As more and more users enter the social realms of Facebook, Twitter etc, their purchase decisions are becoming increasingly influenced by their social peer group. I come across this regularly on twitter – social based decisions on everything from restaurants to laptops and mobile phones. The post also gives a simple path for brands to get invloved in this process. But the essence is that brands need to be truthful, transparent, listen to their customers, be accessible, and most importantly, have a great product, for the reality is that communities cannot be bought. It has to be earned, and this post has a few tips on that. RWW has shared some data on super influencers, from a McCann study done  among 17,000 active internet users in 29 countries.

    Though brands are only beginning to take consumer voices seriously, it is great to see market leaders like Unilever and P&G understanding the limitations of current consumer research procedures, and making efforts to embrace online buzz. Meanwhile, HUL has introduced the concept of a customer ombudsman in india. The ombudsman works on behalf of the consumer and will tackle all cases that cannot be dealt with by Lever Care. A wonderfully radical move, which shows why they are market leaders. Read all about it here.  While on the subject, there’s a company called BazaarVoice, which helps brands create business value out of the positive consumer PR they generate. As fanboy cults emerge on Facebook and impromptu brand wars (among consumers) occur on twitter, I think this space has great potential. Speaking of Facebook, they’re also using users as brand ambassadors in Germany. (via Tech Crunch)

    until next a sociaholic shopaholic?