ITV

Tag: Social Networking

  • Yaari.com brings mobile social networking to India

    Yaari.com brings mobile social networking to India

    MUMBAI: Yaari.com, a social networking site for Indian youth, has released Yaari Mobile, India’s platform for mobile social networking.

    Co-founder and CEO Prerna Gupta said, “The benefit of integrating a social networking site with mobile phones is that it keeps users connected to their network of friends from anywhere, which is especially relevant in India where people do not always have continuous Internet access.”

    The product release includes two primary features: Ywords and Ychat. Ywords allows users to browse the network and interact with other individuals on the site using simple Sms functionality. For example, if a Yaari member sends an Sms command ‘Y profile prerna gupta’ to Yaari, she will receive Prerna’s profile information in the form of an Sms on her phone. She could then go on to browse Prerna’s friends in the same manner, and also send them ‘pinches’, a unique way of interacting with other Yaars.

    The other feature, Ychat, uses Sms to enable group chatting on the go. Users log in to Yaari.com in order to create their Ychat groups and invite their friends to join. Once the group is in place, members can join group discussions via their mobiles and can broadcast messages to every person in the group with a single Sms. They can also reply to messages sent by other members, both from their mobiles and online.

    Yaari.com also plans to introduce non-Sms based mobile features, such as photo and video upload, in the near future, added the release.

    “There are 25 million active Internet users in India. While this figure is large and growing rapidly, it is just the tip of the iceberg. With over 100 million mobile phone users, more than half of which are youth, India is ripe for a mobile social network,” added Prerna.

  • South Asian music & social networking portal SaffronConnect.com launched

    South Asian music & social networking portal SaffronConnect.com launched

    MUMBAI: SaffronConnect.com, an online social networking platform centered around South Asian audio and video content, has announced its official launch. 

    Saffron Connect promises to serve the global South Asian market and seeks to be the first-of-its-kind online music and social networking destination directly targeting the South Asian community.

    The portal will provide content and entertainment services through online, mobile, emerging, and traditional distribution channels, as per an official release.

    In terms of content, SaffronConnect.com will include a range from established bands to upcoming artists, major music labels to independent producers. The ‘Desi’ or South Asian market includes the residents of India, Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, as well as the non-resident community who live around the world, the release adds.

    The platform will allow independent artists, music labels and video content owners to upload, share and sell their content to a community of users with interests in South Asian media. Users, in turn, will be able to sample, hear, download and share songs among their friends and other members. Some key artists whose content is currently available on Saffron Connect include Bally Sagoo, Rishi Rich, Gunjan, Karmacy, and Bohemia. Content from Saffron Connect will also be distributed to services such as iTunes and Yahoo Music.

  • Social networking sites grow by 47% year on year

    Social networking sites grow by 47% year on year

    MUMBAI: Nielsen//NetRatings, which works in the area of internet media and market research, has announced that last month’s top 10 social networking sites in the US collectively grew 47 per cent year over year.

    They increased from an unduplicated unique audience of 46.8 million last year to 68.8 million in April 2006, reaching 45 per cent of active web users. MySpace, which has attracted significant media attention of late, thanks in part to its acquisition by News Corp, topped the list with 38.4 million unique visitors and a remarkable year-over-year growth rate of 367 per cent.

    Blogger took the second spot, garnering 18.5 million unique visitors and growing 80 per cent year over year, followed by Classmates Online with 12.9 million unique visitors and a 10 per cent year-over-year increase.

    Newcomer YouTube and the more established MSN Groups rounded out the top five, with 12.5 million and 10.6 million unique visitors, respectively.

    Nielsen//NetRatings senior director of media Jon Gibs says, “Social networking sites are the reality television of the Internet The content is relatively inexpensive for publishers to produce and social networking is not a fad that will disappear. If anything, it will become more ingrained in mainstream sites, just as reality TV programming has become ubiquitous in network programming.”

    “However, again like reality programming, the concept of ‘reality’ alone, or in this case ‘social networking,’ is not enough. In this competitive marketplace, sites also have to provide consumers with distinct content they can identify with,” he added.

    The interactive nature of social networking sites keeps visitors coming back. MySpace enjoyed the highest retention rate among the group, with 67 per cent of all March at-home visitors returning in April.

    MSN Groups and Facebook also benefited from a loyal following, with 58 and 52 per cent of visitors returning month over month, respectively. Xanga.com and MSN’s new social networking site MSN Spaces rounded out the top five sites ranked by retention rate, with 49 and 47 per cent, respectively.

    Gibs said, “The social networking sites that are seeing strong growth have developed a unique online presence that is continually refreshed by user generated content. This promotes ongoing consumer interest and visitor loyalty. However, while these sites have seen explosive growth over the past 12 months, this is a fickle youth audience, and the masses that have rushed to these sites, could turn their attention elsewhere. “The question that remains is, how strong are the social networks that consumers are building on these sites?”