ITV

Tag: cell phone

  • Trendspotters.tv’s $2mn online gamble with OG content

    Trendspotters.tv’s $2mn online gamble with OG content

    If you think you are the stylish, fashion-forward type, then this may well be the destination for you.

    Welcome to Trendspotters.tv, India’s first online digital channel engaged in spotting trends across genres. Launched on 23 August by Smartube Entertainment, Trendspotters promises to guide you about what’s hot and what’s not on a screen near you – be it a tablet, laptop or cell phone.

    We will be aggressively investing more on creating independent video platforms and creating a lot of content for the internet audience, says Kunal Kishore Sinha

    About the venture, Trendspotters.tv founder Kunal Kishore Sinha says: “We are glad to launch India’s first digital TV, which promises to be an exciting platform for next generation consumers whose lives are driven by upcoming trends- be it fashion, music, sports or entertainment. It is a medium for bringing the next generation trends and talents to light, especially for an upwardly mobile audience. It brings out a cluster of micro trends every day for the new age audience, which takes inspiration from out-of-the-ordinary discoveries.”

    So where and how did it all start? Sinha explains that the team went through the paces; from research to coming up with a suitable name to setting up the platform. “The idea started some six months back when I realised that maximum consumption over a smart phone is on YouTube. It is more than Facebook, Twitter or any other social media platform. There are audiences that are right now looking out for comprehensible video content on the Internet and consuming it. With those facts, we started working on the platform,” he elaborates.

    Starting from the word go

    The first challenge was to get the right resources across categories including fashion and lifestyle, music, and entertainment and sub-categories such as trendsetters, discoveries, trend spotting and seasonal buzz.

    A senior content person from CNN-IBN was roped in for each category and he/she came on board as content director/head based on qualifications and relevant experience. For example, a lady who’d completed her fashion graduation from London and was working with Adidas in Dubai was hired for the fashion category. Ditto for music, where six to seven senior people were brought in, not to mention an RJ who would be associated with them.
        

    The offical website creates content specifically for the web audience; which is not be of long duration

    Next, was what should they name the initiative.  “From the very beginning, we wanted to have content which is more futuristic, also keeping in mind what is outdated and what is in. We started off saying we wanted to have something around the word ‘trend’. After brainstorming, we came up with multiple options. Somebody suggested it should be trendstocker, trendstop, but when we decided on Trendspotter, it felt apt, considering we are into the business of spotting trends across verticals,” explains Sinha.

    But what’s in it for consumers? In every category, there’s a section ‘Discoveries’, which focuses on new talent, points out Sinha, giving the example of a boy called Rameshwar, who has a small shop in Nizamuddin, Delhi, and though he isn’t very popular, still has clients like Gulzar. “Not many mainstream media would cover or discover somebody like that. Eventually, what will happen is our ‘Discovery’ section will get further populated,” says Sinha.

    Is that the broad plan, we ask, and Sinha provides: “We are spotting new trends and creating more content which can be interesting for the audience. So, the idea is to get them what is not available right now in the mainstream, maybe TV is not giving them that.”

    Wouldn’t audiences find a likeness with say YouTube? “We will be creating content specifically for the web audience; which will not be of long duration. The idea behind such content is it will cater to the web audience looking for a quick break from work,” shoots back Sinha.
        
    The website has various categories that spots new trends and creates more content which can be interesting for the audience

    And has the response been worth mentioning? Sinha feels it’s very positive considering the entertainment industry is waking up to the potential of internet media. “When you start a new media company, what happens is getting across to the right people, getting them to come on your platform takes a lot of effort. That challenge we have not faced yet, because we have shot with designers like Troy Costa,” he says.

    Coming to the most critical question – how does the team spot trends across genres on a day-to-day basis? Sinha says presently, content creation is happening in house. The plan is to get into crowd-sourcing, where creators from across the world would be contributing. Yet, the overall control of the content would lie with the company itself. 

    Sinha gives the example of how somebody sitting in Chandigarh would become a trendspotter. Also, contests on social media and on-ground to identify trend spotters across the country are on the schedule, and these in turn would help the channel identify trends there. Additionally, an internal research team would help everyone figure out what is new and interesting and worth talking about.

    Does Trendspotters trend on social media? Well, at the time of penning this article, Trendspotters.tv had managed to garner over 30,000 likes on Facebook. Whereas, the channel’s Twitter presence is being worked upon. Says Sinha: “We were thinking that we would invest just in building up the channel and once it was ready, we would then look for revenue. But what happened is we realised that brands are already ready to partner and invest in the content we are creating. As we speak, we have already started getting revenue by having brands integrated into our shows. Our revenue-stream has already started.”

    Roadmap for future

    For an endeavor so novel, what does the future entail? Plans are afoot to expand the channel’s reach into areas of general interest like automobiles, consumer technology and so on. A section called Club Review is on the anvil, where the channel would be doing video reviews of clubs across the country. The focus is on parameters like music, ambiance, crowd and drinks served etc. Sinha claims they already have sponsors for this section in an international liquor company named Premium and a music equipment company.

    In a month’s time, the official Facebook page has achieved applaudable 30,000 likes

    That said, where does Sinha see Trendspotters.tv in the general scheme of things? “We know that even brands are realising they have to go beyond platforms like Facebook and Twitter to engage with consumers. And I think that is where we are filling in the gap by creating a new platform that will give brands a new way of connecting with their consumers,” replies Sinha.

    Is it looking good hereon? “We are getting good traction from both the brand side and the consumer side. We are happy with the way things are going and going forward, we will be aggressively investing more on creating independent video platforms and creating a lot of content for the internet audience. We would ensure that in the next one year, we actually become a household name,” Sinha rounds off.

    Sinha has drawn up a warchest of $ 2million to fund his dream project. That should suffice to fund his growth needs for the next two years, he says. Basically, he has a two year window to drive trendspotters.tv into a profitable business model. 

  • 74 per cent Americans use mobile phones in emergency situations: Study

    74 per cent Americans use mobile phones in emergency situations: Study

    MUMBAI: Usage of cell phones has become an internal part of today’s life all around the globe. According to Americans, their cell phones aid them during emergencies and fill in their free time. It is interesting to note that around eight per cent had used their cells to vote in contests that had appeared on television, such as American Idol.

    The findings emerge in a national survey of cell phone owners by the Pew Research Center’s Pew Internet & American Life Project, the Associated Press and AOL.

    The result indicated that many also report driving unsafely while on their cells and they say they don’t like the new intrusions and public annoyances cell phones bring to their lives – not to mention their monthly bills.

    The cell phone has become an integral and, for some, essential communications tool that has helped owners gain help in emergencies. Fully 74 per cent of the Americans who own mobile phones say they have used their hand-held device in an emergency and gained valuable help.

    Another striking impact of mobile technology is that Americans are using their cell phones to shift the way they spend their time. Some 41 per cent of cell phone owners say they fill in free time when they are traveling or waiting for someone by making phone calls.

    While 44 per cent say they wait to make most of their cell calls for the hours when they do not count against their “anytime” minutes in their basic calling plan.

    At the same time, there are new challenges associated with cell phone use. More than a quarter of cell phone owners (28 per cent) admit they sometimes do not drive as safely as they should while they use their mobile devices. Among cell phone users, men (32 per cent) are more likely than women (25 per cent) to admit they sometimes don’t drive as safely as they should.

    Furthermore, 82 per cent of all Americans and 86 per cent of cell users report being irritated at least occasionally by loud and annoying cell users who conduct their calls in public places. Indeed, nearly one in ten cell phone owners (eight per cent) admit they themselves have drawn criticism or irritated stares from others when they are using their cell phones in public.

    For some, the cell phone has become so central to their communications needs that they lose track of the expenses associated with their phones. Some 36 per cent of cell owners say they have been shocked from time to time at the size of their monthly bills.

    When it comes to the features Americans would like to add to their cell phones, the desire for maps tops the charts by a clear margin. Fully 47 per cent of cell owners say they would like this feature and 38 per cent say they would like to have instant messages from select friends sent to their cells. Some 24 per cent of cell owners say they would like to use their phones to conduct searches for services such as movie listings, weather reports, and stock quotes. And a similar 24 per cent of cell owners would like to add email to their mobile-phone functionality.

    A third of cell owners (35 per cent) already use text messaging features on their phones and another 13per cent would like to add that capacity to their phone.

    Some 19 per cent of cell owners say they would like to add the capacity to take still pictures to their cells.

    The findings provide a detailed picture of the role of the cell phone in modern life, including how the use of cell phones has helped people become more spontaneous and prolific in their communication patterns. Half the survey was conducted among cell phone owners on their cell phones – one of the largest such samples ever conducted.

    In all, 1,503 people were surveyed between March 8 and March 28 – 752 of them on their landline phones and 751 on their cell phones. Some 1,286 cell phone users were interviewed in the sample. The overall sample and the cell-phone user sample have a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

    It is likely that many of the behaviors reported here will intensify in coming years as more people become attached to and reliant on their mobile phones informs the official release.

    Indeed, 23 per cent of those who currently have landline phones say they are very likely or somewhat likely to convert to being only cell phone users.

    Other overall findings – interruptions, deception, texting spam and “American Idol” In this survey of adult cell users, more than a third say their cell phones have enabled some type of unwelcome intrusion in their lives.

    24 per cent of cell-using adults report they often feel like they have to answer their cell phones even when it interrupts a meeting or a meal.
    22 per cent believe that “too many” people try to get in touch with them because others know they have a cell phone.

    The reasons for this become clear when cell owners describe how they use their phones: Fully 52 per cent of all cell owners say they keep their phone on all the time and 81 per cent of cell-only users say the device is always on. At times, mobile phones are used abet some white lies: 22 per cent of cell owners say they are not always truthful about exactly where they are when they are on the phone. Younger users are much more likely to say they are not always honest about where they are: 39 per cent of cell users ages 18-29 say that.

    Spam has invaded cell phones, too. About one in six cell owners (18 per cent) report receiving unsolicited text messages on their phones from advertisers.

    Asked if they had used their cells to vote in contests that had appeared on television, such as “American Idol,” 8 per cent of cell owners said they had done that.

    Cell phone users are split in how attuned they are to making calls at times when it is less expensive to do so. Some 41 per cent say they try to place most of their phone calls when they know the minutes they use won’t cost them extra money, while 58 per cent report they don’t concentrate the use of their phones to those off peak hours.