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There are 3 new posts in "WATBlog.com - Web, Advertising and Technology Blog in India" Social Networking Monetization - What India Can Learn From China?Social Networking as most know is one of the really hyped and also one of the most used applications on the Web today. Social Networking is not a fad but more a global phenomenon thats getting more engrained in the social behaviour of people in general. While the numbers for Global social networking giants like Facebook, Myspace, Orkut and Bebo are large they are still not making the tonnes of millions of dollars that a Google is making via search or a Yahoo is making via its properties. This fact begs the question whether Advertising is the right business model for social networks? Im sure Indian social networks like Bigadda, Ibibo, Indyarocks and others are already asking themselves this question. The question that also arises is that are any of the social networks globally making tonnes of money? Well the answer is yes and its India’s Neighbors China which is the answer! Techcrunch has an indepth analysis on the chinese social networking market and its monetization strategy. Here are key points from the post: Social Commerce bigger than Ads? ‘12% of Qzone - A Large chinese social network (Probably the largest in the world) revenue stems from online advertising with the rest coming from virtual item sales such as applications and avatars.’ The above statement is shocking to say the least and now consider this.. The total revenue of the company that runs Qzone is over $1 billion in 2008. Now then Are we missing the point somewhere? None of the Indian social networks have even attempted social commerce. A mind block or is India different to China? Are Chinese a Different lot? What’s their demographic? There are 300 million Chinese online users and 66.7 % of them are younger than 29 years old and 35.2 % of them are teenagers. Well if Im correct India’s demographic would be similar if not the same given that India too is a very young country. So what else could be the issues? Credit cards? App Economy and Monetization The Chinese social networks seemed to have aped the Facebook open api app economy fairly well and guess what they have introduced payment api which means developers pay the social network to build apps. Infact there are three montization models for apps - shared ad revenues, income through virtual currencies, and customized development for branded applications. Now again none of the social network have introduced apps Bigadda, Ibibo, Desimartini, Bharatstudent, Minglebox none have any app platform. Makes you wonder if there is too much dependency on ad revenue. All in all there is a clear lack of innovation is seen in the Indian social networks when it comes to monetization. They are still pursuing ads and to some extent social branding as the only mechanism to earn revenue. If these social networks need to survive in the longterm they would have to look at more options in terms of monetization and the Chinese options might just be a starting point to learn adapt and make your own. Related Posts Also Check Out: 3G Gets Poor Response - A Pricing Or Device Issue? - Impact On Auctions?State Owned Telecom firms MTNL and BSNL had launched 3G facilities a couple of months ago even though the auctions for the private players had been in a quandry. MTNL had launched its services in Mumbai and Delhi while BSNL launched 3G across 14 cities. Dismal Response To 3G The response so far to the 3G has been dismal. A total of 3200 subsribers in 2 months at a rate of 125 subscribers a month. A report by The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) had projected that as much as 10% of the 375 million mobile customers would shift to 3G services in the first year itself. At the current rate that number of 37 million looks very unlikely. Who to blame for 3G Lacklustre Adoption? Though its still early days one can get the sense that the much hyped 3G may meet a luke warm response and follow through. The blame would be put squarely on the 3G charges which are surely on the higher side. The other dampner could be the fact that the iphone which is probably the best phone for usage of 3G is still at an obscenely high price and out of reach for most. This again reduces the need for 3G as most users who are on any other phone are probably using the phone as an email checking device and not an entertainment device. Hence maybe when touch devices like the iphone get really cheap a need for faster data connectivity would be felt on the mobile. What about the 3G auctions now? The DoT was quoted recently as stating that it would be difficult to start 3G auctions before the polls which just means that in another 2 months if the 3G uptake by users still remains dismal then it would surely dampen the upcoming auctions. In anycase a lot of debate on the license fees has been going on and constant delays have been made due to the same. To me it seems like the 3G auctions are doomed as of now unless by some miracle the the 3G numbers increase and the private players get motivated and gung ho about offering 3G. Related PostsAlso Check Out: IPL Teams Launch Websites & Fan ZonesThe Indian Premiere League is less than two weeks away and the buzz is starting to build up. The TV campaigns have been launched and so have the websites of the respective teams. Lets look at all the IPL websites and what have they been upto.. Kolkata Knight Riders - Leading the pack is Shahrukh khans kolkata knight riders which have not only revamped their website but also added a fan zone for fans. What’s more there are features like KKR TV, KKR Academy and a merchandize store as well. They also have official presence on facebook, twitter and orkut. The website also has a section named SRK blogs which is still to be updated which means SRK may go blogging as well to promote his IPL team. SRK’s team has already created a lot of buzz with the TV show for cheer leaders and I expect their website to do the same. Rajasthan Royals - Close on the heals of SRK’s knights come the defending champions of IPL Rajasthan royals. Rajasthan royals have the most complete website which has a new addition with the fan zone which is its presence across social media with communities on facebook, youtube, twitter and the indian smsgupshup. It also has a forum for discussion around the team. Its mobile zone powered by smsgupshup already boasts of over 25000 members. This may rise with the ipl and shilpa shetty’s association with the team. Delhi Daredevils - Delhi boys come a close third. They have an official partnership with Bigadda which has a sizeable Indian audience though the group on bigadda is still to kick off in a big way. They also have an smsgupshup group which has over 29000 members. On the website itself they have a blog but its not been up to date. Also they have merchandise buying options. Deccan Chargers -They have an sms gupshup group with over 23000 members and a chargers lounge section which has a graphitti board and a discussion forum. They lack any other social media presence on orkut facebook etc. Chennai Super kings - They have a blog which is well updated and a fan zone on their websites Mumbai Indians - Mumbai Indian just have a fan zone and a discussion forum with about 1276 active users. Royal challengers - Royal challengers website is powered by MSN India and they are offering email ids to users. Kings XI Punjab - This is the only team which is yet to launch its web presence. Its says coming soon. All in all the teams are yet to hit the zone when it comes to their websites even though the chatter around the web about the upcoming IPL has already started to flow. It will be interesting to track and see how the teams use their websites to garner more support. Related PostsAlso Check Out: More Recent Articles |
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