Under the cyber sun...

This was an interesting bit of information. Or was it? Yes, internet did make “dialogue, debate and consensus through communication” possible, but at the same time internet made information symmetry possible which may always be a good thing? I mean..terrorists checking out the exact directions on Google maps before bombing is known to happen. And as for the whole 'dialogue, debate and consensus' part...well, this here is an excellent example of that going for a toss! 

But yes, there is no denying the power of Internet (Kindly insert - With great power comes...blah blah). Being the most adaptable of the digital migrants, my generation is blessed to be witnessing these miracles unfolding before our eyes. For the digital natives to come, these miracles would be as commonplace as a telephone or TV set is to us. 

One of the most intriguing aspect of Internet, for me, has been the phenomenon of blogging. To be able to read a stranger's thoughts, ideas, stories has now become possible. Exhibitionism, the need to be appreciated by others and a sense of ownership seem to drive this phenomenon. For some, blogging is an outlet for their emotions channelized into some form of art. For others, a self-improvement project. For yet another, a way to keep in touch with their dear ones - a chance to form a far deeper connect than mindless social networking, if I may add so. But most  importantly, we like this 'my very own space under the cyber sun' . The whole 'My name, my domain, my shit-posts!' thingie.  And not to forget its free!!

So here's something I have been toying with for a past few months, which I thought I would share with my exactly 3 followers (Yes, I thank thee, each day :D) and any bonus random visitors (delurk guys!) This is part of my dissertation and I thought I would share it on my blog since its about 'blogs'.  So here is my grand idea in a easy-to-digest form: 

YT: Yours Truly
RG: Random Guy

YT: Hey dude, you blog right?

RG: Yes

YT: And you read others' blogs too?

RG :*Yawn* (Nodding)

YT: So when do you read them?

RG: When boss is busy.

YT: Ok great! So do yuo have a sort of list of blogs that you read often?

RG: Yes...come to the point now!

YT: OK,ok..sorry..so why do you visit just a few of them regularly? 

RG: 'Coz they are all my friends who coerce me to read and comment and throw a major tantrum if I dont!

YT: yeah, but you must have eventually explored a lil' and gone on to read some strangers' blogs?

RG: Well, there was this blog with a cute girl's profile pic...

YT: Not for those reasons!! Something you genuinely liked and wanted more of it!!

RG: Definitely the cute girl!!!!

YT: Aargh..I meant the content dude, ever liked any posts so much that you blog-rolled/RSS feed the blog?

RG: Oh that way!! Yes, yes..quite a few - Sidin, Parul, SwB...why even our very own Bhale!

YT: Great! So tell me...why do you like these blogs so much? Is it only the content?

RG: Man you ask a lot of questions!!

YT: (weak smile)

RG: Ok, ok...well, it was only for the content initially, but then other things came into being after that..

YT: Like??

RG: That's for you to find out - Go figure!!

Well if you managed to reach here (virtual hugs!!) you will realise that I am trying to find out the reasons for people liking a particular blog, apart from the content ofcourse. I believe that blogs over a period of time, amass some potential for future earnings (as blogs can be monetized in various ways). Lets call this 'web equity' which can be similar to 'brand equity' but for a we entity wherein a customer is willing to pay a premium for a particular brand vis-a-vis the competing brands. So if tomorrow, blogs become Pay-per-view or if the bloggers decide to publish their content in other paid forms - say a book/movie, the same audience would generate revenue for the blogger. Which means that if we identify the reasons for people liking a blog ie if we identify the 'sources of web equity' for a particular genre of blogs and improve upon it...viola! we can actually improve the web equity of a blog!! 

Oh who am I kidding, its not as simple as it sounds! I know it doesn't even sound simple, but yes, my dissertation topic it is!

Well just to support my idea - quite a few bloggers have published their first novels, Parul being one of them (Oh! She is brilliant! You have to read her blog and she is MICAn too!). Sidin is gonna follow soon. Infact, Parul's novel seems like an extension of her blog - like a brand extension, if we can say that she has established her online brand. 

So here it is!! My lil' idea - to develop a framework to identify sources of web equity.  So let me know what you think of it - bouquets and brickbats both welcome :) Thanks!!

The New Yahoo! - What do Y!ou think?

On 5^th October 2009, 4 major daily newspapers of the country – TheT imes of India, HT, Mint and DNA greeted us with a full page bright yellow jacket advertisement saying, ‘The Internet is under new management. Yours.’ Prime time slots on all major as well as niche television channels like Discovery, NatGeo played the Yahoo! Anthem – a minute long advertisement focused on the international spirit and interactivity of Yahoo!

Earlier this month, horizontal portal giant Yahoo! launched a global branding campaign ‘It’s Y!ou’ focusing on the user now being in charge of his internet experience through Yahoo! Personalization of homepage and other products are the ways in which Yahoo! wishes to offer superior web experience to its users. Costing them a little over $100 million, the campaign is seen as a long term transformation for Yahoo! who wishes to be at the centre of all internet-based activities for the users.

This brings out several interesting issues for discussion:

1. Conventional media – still alive and kickin’– It is interesting to see an Internet company leveraging conventional media – Print, television, radio to drive people to its website.

2. ‘Product innovation precedes the branding campaign’, so claims Yahoo! Yes, there have been several up gradations and add-ons, and the collaboration with Microsoft for the search engine Bing has been a huge step. The Homepage too has undergone a makeover, looking much sleeker, cleaner and appealing. The biggest feature that the Homepage now offers is the personalisation of content that one wishes to see on his/her homepage. There are also similar features in the other core products like mail, messenger and search (through choice of filters). But is personalization of content such a breakthrough innovation that it justifies a budget of $100 million? More so, can an entire branding strategy be based on this development in the product? In the past, iGoogle has offered similar options without so much as a ruffle.

3. Horizontal vs. Vertical portals – where are we heading?

In an age where digital immigrants are fast turning into digital natives, we all wish to become ‘specialists in information’ rather than being simply ‘well-informed’. Similarly, we tend to rely more on vertical portals for the depth and variety of content that they offer. For an avid internet user, a horizontal portal is increasingly being seen as a platform for the internet noobs to start off from. So the moot point is as the consumer preferences change as one becomes more adept with the internet, does a horizontal portal still offer us a reason to stick around? And more importantly can Yahoo! do that?

4. ‘Centre of peoples’ online lives’ is the positioning Yahoo! intends to achieve. But in current times where every digital native has 4 or more social networking ids (Orkut, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) not to mention multiple mail accounts and other personal favourite websites can one website become the centre of users’ online lives? Interestingly, even Google seems to be in the race for this coveted position. It would be exciting to watch if Yahoo! can match up to the expectations it has set for itself.

In recent times, Yahoo! has undergone a plethora of changes both in its management as well as product portfolio. Streamlining of products, identifying and communicating the role of Yahoo! in cyberspace are a few tasks carried out by the feisty CEO Carol Bartz after coming on board. Agreed, that the company has had its share of tumultuous phases and even more may come, but one would be foolish to discount Yahoo! as it gears up for the challenge of becoming the centre of people’s online lives. Not to mention, Yahoo! sites are after all, the third most visited websites on the planet!*

*Source: June 2009, comScore