Happy New Year

May this year brings everyone a step closer to their dreams.

P.S.: The attached image is am mailer from cleartrip.com which in my opinion is the best website to book air tickets in India.

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Cleartrip.com earning report

2008 ...

... will mark the beginning of a new era.

Recommend a Camera

I am planning to buy a camera. Can someone recommend one before 28th Dec 2007 .. ?

Thanks

ICICI Bank Credit Cards advertising on Facebook

Just saw this 5 minutes ago.

ICICI Bank Credit Cards is now advertsing on Facebook.

Orkut vs Facebook seems to be a popular topic amongst people in India. This advertisement by ICICI Bank Credi Cards might just be the beginning of Facebook's acceptance as a social networking platform frequented by Indians.

This brings me to another discussion. Effectiveness of text ads delivered by Google Adsense vs ads delivered by Facebook as a notification.

For an online ad to be effective, it should have following ...

1. Visibility - With those slick blocks, FB ads are far more visible than cluttered text ads delivered by Google.

2. Hook - Why would someone click on an ad knowing that it is an ad? Because of a hook. Hook like "Rs. 250 on your first purchase", no points for guessing which platform has better hooks.

3. Reach - Obvisouly Google Adsense leads by a long way. FB can display ads only in its network and Google can reach the dense rainforests of the world wide web.

In the long run, its hard to tell which one would win. FB looks better but they have a huge problem. The ads can only be served within the social network and hence is limited in scale.

Any other opinions?

Your HDFC Bank Account Need Authentication To Keep Your Account Activate Otherwise it Will Get Blocked

Phishing... !


Mail titled "Your HDFC Bank Account Need Authentication To Keep Your Account Activate Otherwise it Will Get Blocked"

HDFC Bank users need to be aware ...

Past-Present-Future of e-commerce in India

Mitul asked this question on LinkedIn. I am posting my answer.

Past-Present-Future of e-commerce in India.

E-commerce in India is at a very nascent stage compared to western world. However, if compared to last year, transactions have grown by over 1000% (or more) and my assumption is that the future is going to be even more exciting.

Railways & Airlines have played a major role in this. What is the next big thing that will take e-commerce to the next level?

My Answer

Hi Mitul,

I think the next wave is going to be commodity products. Something like Books. Things that you don't mind buying from any store, you would buy them online if the website gave you a discount. Other things that would fall under this category are computers (Dell), Stationary (OfficeTiger, Office 1 superstore) etc.

Fashion as mentioned by Heber might not work in India as we still want to touch and feel these products. In fact even when we go to a store, we spend hours deciding on the right fit and look. Its something innate to Indians. (am not sure about other cultures).

If I come across more, will update this.

-
SG

I further updated the answer ...

Hi Mitul,

I dont know what would build the future. It's just that I put myself in customers shoes and figure out what would I want to buy online.

Talking about mobile phones, one reason why I dont think it would work is that we as Indians want to touch and feel a product a before we buy. With an online model am not sure if I can touch and feel a product.

Second we buy things from a trusted service provider rather than any random person. Websites are still not trusted parties for most Indians. I would pay a premium to buy something from a trusted shop and might leave the 5% discount that online sales get me.

Third a mobile phone is still 5000 bucks and this is above average amount for an average Indian. Spending this much means that stakes involved are high (might not be able to buy it some time soon in case it is faulty). Thus we go the extra step in making sure that decision is correct in the first place.

Hope this helps.
Warm Regards,

SG

Anyone wants to share their opinions .. ?

Jonathan Ive - Steve Jobs in making?

I posted about Jonathan Ive in March 2006 here.

Times Online has this interesting piece that speculates that Jonathan Ive is being groomed to take over Steve Jobs.

Sad News ... Asok is dead :(

Asok died on Friday December 07, 2007. Deepest condolences to his family and friends.

May his soul rest in peace.

P.S.: Further details here.

Free CSS Tutorial

If anyone is planning to learn CSS, easy and fast, please refer to Hands on CSS Tutorial. This is best CSS tutorial I have come across in a long long time. The tutorials has many examples, is written in a very lucid language and is very comprehensive. Ideal for a beginner.

Reassured.

I was walking slowly outside my office. It dawned on me that last time I walked this slowly, with this much reassurance was when I was at MDI.

There was too much uncertainly floating around. I had no clue where I was headed and I couldn’t have cared less but there was an assurance. A sense of security. A certainty. I belonged to that place and that place belonged to me.

Today when I was walking down the road, I realized that suddenly I am back where it all started. I am confident about the future. I am certain that good things would happen. The only uncertainty is how and when. And how and when are mere words. Inconsequential words.

Is it that I use only fancy words and do nothing about it? Is it that I would be yet another blips on the radar with a half life of 5 seconds?