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Friday, November 28, 2008

WATBlog Update "Suvir Sujan - Nexus India Capital Talks About Sedemac Investment & 220 M$ Fund" from "WATBlog.com - Web, Advertising and Technology Blog in India"

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"Suvir Sujan - Nexus India Capital Talks About Sedemac Investment & 220 M$ Fund" from "WATBlog.com - Web, Advertising and Technology Blog in India"

Suvir Sujan - Nexus India Capital Talks About Sedemac Investment & 220 M$ Fund

WATShow caught up with Suvir Sujan of Nexus India Capital and asked him about his recent investment in sedemac a company in the efficient energy segment and we also queried him about what kind of companies he is looking to fund given the newly closed 220 million $ fund.

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Check out 50 more such exclusive interviews on WATShow.com

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Thursday, November 27, 2008

WATBlog Update "Wireless & Broadband touch 325 Million and 5 Million respectively - A Look At State Of Internet" from "WATBlog.com - Web, Advertising and Technology Blog in India"

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Wireless & Broadband touch 325 Million and 5 Million respectively - A Look At State Of Internet
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"Wireless & Broadband touch 325 Million and 5 Million respectively - A Look At State Of Internet" from "WATBlog.com - Web, Advertising and Technology Blog in India"

Wireless & Broadband touch 325 Million and 5 Million respectively - A Look At State Of Internet

The Trai has released subscriber numbers for the month of October for mobile and for broadband and yet again mobile growth has been clocking 10 million a month taking the total wireless subscribers above 325 million.

Key highlights for the month of October are:

10.42 million Wireless Subscribers added in October 2008.
Broadband subscribers reaches 5.05 million mark.
Tele-density reaches 31.50% mark.

In the wireline segment, the subscriber base has decreased to 38.22 million in the month of October 2008 as against 38.35 million subscribers.

Another report released by Akamai which looks at the state of the internet had the following interesting statistics:

India ranked No. 20 in terms of number of observed IP addresses with 2.6 million connections. In Q3, the growth in IP addresses was 23%.
The percentage of Internet connections from India with speeds above 256 Kbps was at 74%, indicating gradual shift from dial-up speeds to high speed connectivity
The percentage of Internet connections from India with speeds above 2 Mbps was at 5%, growing 16% compared to Q2

The above statistics are surely great for internet throught the growth % is over a very small base of subscribers for broadband. It may take India 3-5 years to achieve sizable (10-15 million) broadband (wired) subscribers. In the meanwhile 3G and Wimax auction and rollout and its impact would be closely followed by people from this space.

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WATBlog Update There are 2 new posts in "WATBlog.com - Web, Advertising and Technology Blog in India"

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Rediff Launches WebinMail - A Way To Access Web via Mail
The Mumbai Terrorist Attack Situation.. And how to help..
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There are 2 new posts in "WATBlog.com - Web, Advertising and Technology Blog in India"

Rediff Launches WebinMail - A Way To Access Web via Mail

Rediff has launched a new product called Web in Mail which as the the name suggests is a product that enables you to recieve web pages via mail. Also this isn’t limited to web pages but one can also get rediff search results for search terms in their mail. This can be done by sending a mail to browse@webinmail.com with the URL (internet address) of the webpage which the user wants to access in the subject line and a mail will be sent back to the user with html version of the site embedded in the mail.

Now im not sure who and for what reason would use this given that if you can access mail you can surely open a couple of webpages. This service, in its beta version, also allows users to search the internet. Users simply need to send their search query in the subject line and result mail is received via email.

Venki CTO, Rediff.com throws some light on the usage of this product "Web-in-mail will let people with restricted internet access to now access internet content". So it seems sites which are blocked by ISP’s could use this to access that content. Im still unsure whether there is enought use case for this product.. Only time will tell.

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The Mumbai Terrorist Attack Situation.. And how to help..

Dear All,

Hope all who are from mumbai are well. My heart goes out to those victimized by this tragedy. I was up till 4am today morning trying to get in touch with everyone.

Hope God gives each one of us strength to get through these tough times. Do let us know if we can be of any help in anyway in Mumbai.

For those looking for a helpline number for Mumbai Help Hotline is 91-11-2389 0606

Those looking to donate blood call 922 222 1947 & tell them you want to donate blood. They’ll get back to you when someone needs it.

In general I think people should stay off the roads today so that the work by the security personnel can be completed. Lets hope things come back to normal soon.

All’s well on our end but the sheer sight of seeing mumbai being attacked has got WAT and the WATBloggers community very sad and subdued.

Take Care

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Wednesday, November 26, 2008

WATBlog Update "Inviting You To WATBlog Panel On Bridging the Digital Divide At New Delhi On 12th December" from "WATBlog.com - Web, Advertising and Technology Blog in India"

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Inviting You To WATBlog Panel On Bridging the Digital Divide At New Delhi On 12th December
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"Inviting You To WATBlog Panel On Bridging the Digital Divide At New Delhi On 12th December" from "WATBlog.com - Web, Advertising and Technology Blog in India"

Inviting You To WATBlog Panel On Bridging the Digital Divide At New Delhi On 12th December

After doing its first panel in Mumbai amongst students and industry people at IIT Bombay WATBlog Panel is now heading to New Delhi. And this time we are connecting the digital media space with traditional brands who are looking to go digital.

WATBlog Panel On Bridging the Digital Divide examines the challenges and opportunities faced by traditional brands that have gone or are looking to go digital with their campaigns. The discussion will examine the roles of key agents of this transformation and that of digital advertising. Some of the leading lights in Indian Digital Space will highlight the complex roots and dynamics of traditional media vs digital media development and will point out insights that can help traditional brands make the transition.

What do we expect to answer Via the Panel

* How have traditional companies jumped on to the Digital Bandwagon? Or Have They?

* What are the steps required to bridge the Traditional –Digital Divide? More Spends But Where?

* Roles of Advertisers, Publishers and Technologists in bridging this gap?

* Digital Media Marketing Tools That Traditional Companies need to look at?

* How can organisations adapt to and capitalise on the digital media developments expected in the next 12 months?

* What is needed? In terms of People, Standards, Technology and Investments to make this happen?

Who should attend and why?

Digital Media Professionals - All those connected with the digital media space be it web or mobile publishers, digital advertising/marketing enthusiasts or technology analysts/developers should attend this event to get a perspective on how traditional media needs to look at digital and how digital needs to be evangelized to traditional media.

Traditional Company Professionals - Those belonging to traditional media can learn a lot from this panel on what to look forward to from the digital media and how their company can go digital in the years to come.

The discussion will be followed by cocktails, snacks and a mixer at The Metropolitan Hotel, New Delhi

Presenting Sponsor

Cocktails Sponsor

Details of Event

Date: 12th December, 2008

Time:7PM – 9PM

Venue: Capitol, The Metropolitan Hotel, Bangla Saheb Road, Near Connaught Place, New Delhi

The Discussion: “Bridging the Digital Divide – How can Traditional Go Digital"

Moderator: Rajiv Dingra Founder & Chief Blogger, WATBlog.com

Panelists to be announced.

Final Agenda
7:00pm - Keynote Address
7:15pm - 8:15pm - Panel Discussion
8:15pm - 8:45pm - Q&A
8:45pm - 9:00pm - Closing Remark
9pm onwards – Cocktails, Snacks & Networking

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Tuesday, November 25, 2008

WATBlog Update There are 3 new posts in "WATBlog.com - Web, Advertising and Technology Blog in India"

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Mobile Number Portability (MNP) - Why It Could Redefine Fortunes Of The VAS Players
Mumbai & Delhi Rank As Largest Ecommerce Hubs - Why Ecommerce Is Key For Online Advertising Growth?
NewsCorp Launches .FoxNetworks.. One more to over a Dozen Ad Networks in India
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There are 3 new posts in "WATBlog.com - Web, Advertising and Technology Blog in India"

Mobile Number Portability (MNP) - Why It Could Redefine Fortunes Of The VAS Players

Mobile Number Portability (MNP) a buzz word for quite sometime now and last heard that TRAI would favor the number portability implementation by June 2009.

Now DoT has taken a step further and invited bids from technology players to setup the Mobile Number Portability system in India. For those who dont know Number portability allows subscribers to retain their existing telephone numbers when they switch from one operator to another.

If and when the system rolls out it would work something like this:

Subscriber contacts new operators and asks his number to be ported
New operator submits number port request to clearing house
The clearing house informs the old operator
In a specific time frame the old operator deactivates and the new operator activates
Clearing house informs all operators that the number is ported

As its clear from the above flow. The role of the clearing house is critical and hence some guidelines for bidding have been laid down for MNP Service providers who would be managing the clearing house. Simply put Existing telecom players will not be allowed to be an MNP service provider. Companies such as Telcordia, Tekelec, Nortel and Syniverse may bid for the MNP service provider licence.

How is Number Portability a Boon for VAS players?

Well once operator becomes a replaceable carrier and number portability becomes a reality two things would come under focus:

1) Service Quality of Operators

2) Value added services provided by Operators

Think about it.. If you are a football fan and can keep your number but want to download the game which is exclusively available on another operator (other than yours) then number portability would allow you to change the operator and download the same. Which means VAS could actually become a differentiating factor for telecom operators once number portability comes in. I feel this could be a bigger bet for VAS players than 3G. Also Airtel would not have the guts to block a Mytoday after this comes into play as mytoday would plainly ask subscribers to shift from airtel. I can also foresee revenue share’s changing and content gaining power over networks. Also operators would be ready to pay a premium to content players for exclusivity of VAS content. For example movie content like ringtones and downloads would have operators vying for them for exclusivity.

Costs and Time could be deterrent

Though very possible the thing that could reduce the impact of number portability for VAS players is cost of porting one’s number though there is no word yet but if transferring my number from one operator to another costs me as a subscriber then that is a deterrent. Also the other deterrent could be time as in if it take a month for the process of transfer to take place it may stop users from going in for it. Last but not the least if there is a cap on the number of times I can change my operator.

All in all I out of everyone is awaiting the MNP as my operator is Vodafone and I wish to change it! (Ofcourse dont wish to change my number ;))

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Mumbai & Delhi Rank As Largest Ecommerce Hubs - Why Ecommerce Is Key For Online Advertising Growth?

According to an Ebay census Mumbai is the top e-commerce centre in India, followed by Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. Also in terms of items sold on eBay USB drive register the maximum sales. I guess thats understandable given that USB drive ranges from 300-1000 rupees which is the ideal online transaction amount. Other popular items included value mobile handsets, MP4 players, USB MP3 players and diamonds were the other popular items.

The most interesting insight from the census is the fact that 33% of all the products bought are by customers in the hilly areas of the north-east, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh etc! Also states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are the ones from where the maximum towns engage in ecommerce.

Why is ecommerce related to Online Adverting?

Growth of ecommerce is essential for the growth of online advertising as well and this insight was stated in our first WATBlog Panel at IIT. The reason for this is because if people don’t transact online then the cost per conversion for ad campaign’s becomes even more thereby making advertisers wary of the online medium. Yes one may argue that TV also doesn’t have an immediate transaction but one only has to look at some ads which give out sms codes especially the financial institutions ones and give phone numbers one can call on thereby giving opportunity for advertising to convert in sales.

Even print ads have discounts and other freebies for immediate sale impact. Online on the other hand needs to see a rise in ecommerce as it would drive the use of the medium for advertising. What do you think?

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NewsCorp Launches .FoxNetworks.. One more to over a Dozen Ad Networks in India

Fox Interactive which is the digital arm of News Corp has launched its online ad network in India called .FoxNetworks. The company has roped in Pooja Puri who recently quit hindustan times as national director, sales.

Ad networks are a dime a dozen (check list below) in the Indian market and a consolidation or shut down news of networks is waiting to happen given the market downturn and reluctance of advertisers to spend money. Globally .Foxnetworks serves display as well as video ads and also carries out lead generation campaigns, search marketing and affiliate marketing programmes.

According to a statement to afaqs currently .FoxNetworks would focus on lead generation campaign. Internationally.FoxNetworks has its own properties as well as other publishers in its network. NewsCorp owns online properties like Myspace and in India the entire Star bouquet including Channel V. Though its not apparent whether these properties would fall in the category for lead generation or will be associated at all with the Indian Ad Network operations.

Some of the well known and well backed ad networks

Tonictag By Ishir Digital, NetworkPlay By Webchutney, Admagnet By Interactive Avenues, Adchakra By Percept Knorigin, DGM (affiliate network) By DGM India, Komli, Ozone Media, Tyroo By SITG, Paypod, Adwinks by Ibibo, Jivox and Vdopia (Video Ad Networks), Sulekha Ad Network and AdsforIndians,

I think the tougher aspect would be attracting advertisers in this lean period without any substantial USP i.e. everybody else also seems to be offering lead generation services via ad networks. Beside for being an offering from newscorp currently .Fox Networks has nothing to write home about.

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