beyondCTR

Google Chrome et al.

Google seem to have adopted  a simple strategy. Watch the current products in the market, observe their good points and lacunae, make a product of their own retaining the good points and removing the lacunae and bang!

They take away the learning’s other have made just by observation. GTalk, Android, Gmail etc, none are new products, they are just better. Whole new meaning of the term innovation I guess.

Case in point their brand new browser Chrome.Check out the cool features here.

Google’s SecondLife Lively.com

Google has launched Lively.com ,where avatars can be created to chat with your friends in 3d rooms.Obviously Google gets walls of the room as space to post ads.

The only logic I can fathom of Google’s entry in this space is :Me Too !

New AdNetworks:Clinck and GoSindabad

Recently funded Ideacts Innovation ($5 mn by Sequoia) has launched Clinck is an interesting AdNetwork which has has inventory as the desktop space, available on cyber cafes across India.

GoSindabad is from the stable of Goosefish Media Ventures promoted by  Web Chutney targeted at Travel.My question where are so many ad networks which are mushrooming so frequently will find inventory from limited quality publishers in India ?

New Media Nos. from India

According to comScore internet users in India are 28.4 mn in April 2008 ,which is 27% growth YOY.This is to be noted that comScore figures do not include access from public places like cyber cafes and mobile devices.

ZenithOptemidia pegs the Internet Advertising to be at 460 cr at the end of 2008 which is a 30% YOY.They divide the pie as follows 56% display ,24 % classified and 20 % search ,the search figures do not look right as the world average is around 45% .

Business Standard report predicts that the Mobile advertising will grow to 500 cr in the next five years from the current level of 40 cr ,if the telecom operators provide net access at lower rates.

Online Video Space heating up in India

The online video space is heating up in India ,with video ad networks like Jivox and Ozone Media(plans to launch video ad network soon) receiving funding and new publishers like DailyMotion.com entering the India launching India specific site.

Some of the common formats of video ads on the Internet are pre-roll and post-roll ads, video overlays and in-stream ads. Pre-roll ads play in the form of a short video before the actual video content being watched plays, and post-roll ads refer to ads that follow at the end of the main video. Overlay ads work by providing textual information in the form of a banner at the bottom of the screen when the ad is playing. These can be clicked on for more information or turned off if desired. In-stream ads play between the video, similar to how we see ads in TV shows.

Google AdPlanner & Trends for Websites

Google is now taking on the likes of comScore and Alexa .

AdPlanner is a free media planning tool which helps advertisers with information on websites their audience is likely to visit.Trends for websites is a Alexa like tool providing unique visitors over a period of time.

Data source for both are the same ,Google points out them to be Google Analytics ,Opt in panels etc. .My belief is the innocuous Google toolbar on our browsers ,is one major source.

Interestingly ,Google own websites data is not displayed :"Your websites - google.com,youtube.com - do not have data to display" is the message from Google trends for websites.

VidyaCenter & Demazi

Couple of promising startups by iitian’s.

VidyaCenter attempts to crate a market pace for education ,where students can find teachers and vice a versa. This is a elance /rent-a-coder like execution for education,this makes me think what other successful models can be customised like this.

Demazi (read as development made easy) ,will attempt to create customized software on the fly ,targeted at SME’s .Some international executions that come to mind our 37 signal (project management) and Zoho.

AOL launches Asylum for men

AOL has launched asylum.in ,the Indian rendition of its global site targeted at men.

The site is divided into various content sections like women ,bollywood ,business etc. Note from the Asylum team mentions that they have "photos of women too".

Shiksha after Naukri

Naukri’s educational portal Siksha.com goes live .

The site apart from the content on colleges  has forums ,answers and ask a expert  features.The alerts feature is very comprehensive and will be important in ensuring repeat visits to the site.

There is no mention of StudyPlaces.com(where InfoEdge has made some investment) though , in the study abroad section.

Two more Ad Networks

ISHIR Interactive has launched TonicTag and Interactive Avenues AdMagnet .
This is in addition to the already crowded space.Augurs well for the publishers as is a case of lot of these guys chasing the the limited ad inventory of handful of quality publishers in India