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Tag: Firstpost.com

  • Durga Raghunath takes charge as CEO, Network18 Digital

    Durga Raghunath takes charge as CEO, Network18 Digital

    MUMBAI: Network18 Digital, the digital content arm of Network18, has strengthened its leadership structure by elevating Durga Raghunath to CEO.

     

    She was earlier the CEO of Firstpost.com, the news and opinion portal from the group. Lakshmi Narasimhan, the previous CEO for the group’s digital content business, is now moving onto a corporate role.

     

    Network18 COO Ajay Chacko said “At Network18 Digital, we are proud to have built cult digital content brands which have had a defining influence on the space. As consumer internet in India undergoes a paradigm shift, we continue to be focused on leading this change from the front. Durga is well-equipped to lead this effort for us due to her strong understanding of the digital user, products and the opportunity.”

     

    Narasimhan added “Durga has played a stellar role in transforming Firstpost from an innovative idea into a leader brand today. We are confident that in this expanded mandate, she will take Network18 Digital to newer heights”

     

    Speaking on her elevation, Raghunath said “The Network18 Digital portfolio would make anyone proud. As digital usage and spends spiral up in India, it is exciting to have the opportunity to do more with our existing products as well as build new ones”

     

    Raghunath has over ten years experience in publishing – both books and digital. She previously worked with the Wall Street Journal, Mint and HarperCollins in New York. She has an MBA from ISB and studied publishing at Columbia University. Durga joined Network18 in 2011 and conceptualized and launched firstpost.com.

     

    Network18 Digital, earlier referred to as Web18, comprises a bouquet of digital content brands and services. This includes Moneycontrol.com, Ibnlive.com, Firstpost.com and Burrp.com. Cumulatively, Network18 Digital reaches over 25 million unique visitors on an average every month, according to comScore.

  • Network 18 and Microsoft set up analytics centre for 2014 elections

    Network 18 and Microsoft set up analytics centre for 2014 elections

    MUMBAI: Just as India enters its first leg of election 2014, Network 18 has announced a partnership with Microsoft India in order to create a Microsoft Election Analytics Centre for its two premiere English and Hindi channels: CNN-IBN and IBN7.

     

    The centre will make use of the software and hardware technologies from Microsoft in order to bring analysis, trends and data visualisation during the general elections. Both current as well as historical data will be used to give election insights that will be powered by data visualisation by a Microsoft partner, Gramener.

     

    Speaking on the development Network18 COO Ajay Chacko said, “General Elections 2014 are possibly the most complex electoral exercise ever undertaken. Technologically enabled tools and skills are required to decode, decipher and analyse the subtle nuances of these elections. We are excited about partnering with Microsoft in this context and leveraging their leadership in technology and analytics. We are confident that this will further add to our legacy of credibility and accuracy in elections programming.”

     

    Microsoft India chairman Bhaskar Pramanik said, “With a billion people gearing up to make their voices heard, there is a lot of data out there that can sometimes be confusing. Using cloud services, big data analysis and data visualisation will help CNN-IBN present that data in a manner that makes sense to the Indian voter, and helps them engage with the election process much more than ever before.”

     

    An ‘Indian Election’ app has been created for viewers to find, search and engage with election data in a unique way. This will be assisted by its online platforms such as IBNLive.com, Firstpost.com and Bing.com. The app can be downloaded by Windows phone and Windows 8 tablet users. Very soon, it will also be available to Android and iOS users.

     

    IBN Network editor in chief Rajdeep Sardesai said, “We are very excited about the partnership with Microsoft India.  We have always believed in putting our viewers first and giving them the best we can. This partnership is another step in that direction. Microsoft with its vast expertise in technology and analytics will definitely add value and precision to our programming this election.”

  • Firstpost.com launches new business portal, Firstbiz

    Firstpost.com launches new business portal, Firstbiz

    MUMBAI: Nearly three years after the successful launch of Firstpost.com (9 May 2011), India’s first exclusively digital newsroom debuts www.firstbiz.com a stand-alone, business news and views site, today.   

    While Firstpost has in the past covered business, economy, investing and brands as a part of its general news coverage, this stand-alone approach comes at a time when India gears up for its giant, general election where economic and business agendas are set as much as the political. Firstpost believes that users must engage with economy and business, as deeply as with politics.

    And from this emerges Firstbiz – the business offering from Firstpost.

     R Jagannathan, Editor-in-chief says:  

    “With Firstpost, we walked right into the middle of a rising tide of public anger against poor governance and corruption. By reflecting a diverse range of public opinion that mainstream media was slow to respond to, Firstpost made a space for itself.  

     
    With Firstbiz, which is targeted not just at business and entrepreneurs, but all economic agents driven by aspiration, the need for a quick turnaround on news and views is even more vital. Digital media is best-placed to serve this growing community of participants in the India growth story with its unique take on developments. We will be there wherever you are: first on your desktop or laptop, and soon enough on your iPad, your Android smartphone, or whatever device you use to get to information.”

    Durga Raghunath, CEO Firstpost adds:

     “With Firstbiz, we hope to do the following:
     
    One, rethink posting around Business. We know that Business news consumption on digital has plateaued, but there is a way to coax every reader to become a business news reader. We also believe, that CEOs can use digital media more, if content was tailored and useful.

     
    Two, make Business inclusive. Digital media by its very nature allows us to focus on the niche. We don’t have constraints of inches or minutes, we can afford to have a very long tail. So we will cater to big business, small business and very small entrepreneurs.

     
    Three, with this launch we are also thrilled to take Biztech, that was previously a stand-alone property into our fold. Enterprise technology is a phenomenally important space that we will build a multitude of experiences around. We will focus on great depth in this area, both online and offline. And finally, this is a beta production. We will change a lot along the way, as we did with Firstpost, based on user feedback and analytics.”

     

  • GroupM partners with Social Media Week

    GroupM partners with Social Media Week

    MUMBAI: GroupM partnered with the global social media conclave, Social Media Week in its debut outing to India. As the host of the Advertising and Marketing hub and an integral part of the advisory board, GroupM brought together marketers, publishers, influencers and thinkers discussing content, data, insight, mobile, search, platforms and innovations. Over a course of three days, the agenda sought to deep dive into all aspects of social media that affect brands today.

    Day 1:

    Day one of the hub with a spotlight on content focused on two pertinent questions:

    Brands in The Youth & Social equation

    On the high impact panel moderated by Anant Rangaswami Editor, Storyboard on CNBC TV18 and senior editor, Firstpost.com was Rishi Dogra (General Manager – Marketing Digital & Activations at PepsiCo), Alex Oberberg (Head of markets Engagement, Global Social media and Digital marketing); Nickhil Jakatdar (CEO and Founder, Vuclip); Arjun S Ravi (Co-Founder, NH7) & Social Media Influencer Abhishek Ashthna aka Gabbar Singh. From what the best in business are doing to engage a super connected demographic to what the Indian scenario lacks, this session covered it all. The panel extensively debated on where brand conversations and imagery fit in the world of a young consumer.

    Socialization of Branded content

    The next highlight event was an insightful conversation between Prem Panicker (Managing Editor, Yahoo India) and Anant Ranswami as they discussed the evolution of branded content through time, platforms and technology. The session focused on the changed game between content creators, carriers and consumers. Panicker spoke extensively about the changing balance of power between content producers, publishers, distributors and consumers.

    Along with the session, the day saw enormous participation in the interactive workshops by GroupM Social and Search & KRDS. These were aimed at hands on and interactive learning for the topics in discussion.

    Day 2:

    The hub focus on day two were game changers, with discussions on data, cinema and mobile
    Real time data and actionable insights

    The day started with a group of industry leaders that are making numbers work harder. Listening, measurement and technology all served up in hot offering,  the panel moderated by Sandeep Pandey, Mindshare comprised of Lakshmanan Narayan, CEO & Co-Founder, Unmetric Inc; Venke Sharma, Vice President – Digital Marketing, Star TV; Kartik Sharma, Managing Partner Maxus; Ranjit Nair, CEO, Explic8. The session focused on how the best in the business are converting data into actionable marketing insights to drive value like no other. Amongst many intriguing conclusions, the way forward was making beta a strategy, real time optimization and democratic marketing structures
    Cinema in the age of internet

    Another aspect of the changing balance of power was brought to debate by the second panel of the day as Pragya Tiwari Editor-in-Chief, The Big Indian Picture quizzed Rohan Sippy, Film Director and Producer & Guneet Monga, CEO, Anurag Kashyap Films Pvt. Ltd on how social media has revolutionized what they do. This was a live wire discussion about all aspects of film production and marketing from creative, tech, production, marketing, censorship to criticism and box-office collections and how social helps.

    Day 3:
    Day three was full power Advertising hub day and also the closing day of the Social Media Week Mumbai.

    The day opened with an invigorating address by Rohit Varma, Co-Founder, R SQUARE Consulting (CO) and Toby Daniels, Founder & CEO, Crowdcentric; followed by the highlight session of the day, the keynote address by CVL Srinivas, CEO, South Asia GroupM.

    Speaking on the Changing Face of Agencies in the Dynamic Social Media World, Srinivas commented on the paradigms shifts of airing to sharing; digital first thought map and eventually about an adaptive and actionable marketing structure.

    Amongst the many panels on the day, some of the noteworthy sessions were:

    The Art & Science of Social Media Analytics

    A descriptive 101 in how social insights are logical and analytical at the same time. This session by Karthik Nagarajan, National Director – Social Media & Insights, GroupM had it all – solutions, perspectives and best practices. The presentation explained the stages of insight from mere data  to an actionable logic backed inference.

    The Publisher Brand and the rise of Micro-Content
    This session brought to the fore the opportunity shorter forms of content brings. A pacey and heady conversation between four of the most dynamic thinkers of the media and social industry – Anant Rangaswami, Editor, Storyboard on CNBC TV18 and senior editor, Firstpost.com; Ashok Krish, Head – Web 2.0 Innovation labs, Tata Consultancy Services; Lakshmanan Narayan, CEO & Co-Founder, Unmetric; Karthik Nagarajan, National Director – Social Media & Insights, GroupM. The panel concurred how the arrival of micro content and real time responses not just meant a relook at content strategies but also a revision of the brands priorities.