OkTaTaByeBye January 12, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Travel , trackbackOkTaTaByeBye (love the name 
) claims to be India’s first online travel community. They are driven by one of the major indian travel sites MakeMyTrip.com (I’ve written about them here). The idea is to get collective opinions and reviews (and maybe drive traffic to the parent website).
The concept is neat, presentation is cool. I like the smart graphics (main banner has two side view mirrors that look like ones on Tata trucks) and images (check the one at bottom of homepage - funny one-liner written behind commercial autos in India).
Hey, whatever the motive- the site is cool. And it may turn out to be useful gradually, as the user/community generated content grows.
Update: (13 April’07) Heard from a senior official at OkTaTaByeBye that the site is relaunched today with a new look and functionality. The site now offers it’s members messaging, hotel reviews, IE toolbar, rewards program, etc.
The homepage crams bit more info than it should, but the site is still way better than the herds of indistinguishable community-based Indian websites. The Tata-truck style rear-view mirrors on the banner now have a realistic scene of Indian driving, and look even better than before. Good job!
Comments»
Due for a relaunch. fresh energy and content among other things. if you would drop me a mail, I’ll be more than willing to share information prior to launch with you as the url is not poitned to the new site yet.
Great Piece. Thanks.
Dear Partha,
Thanks for the comment and offer to share information. In the past, readers have told me that they feel more connected to the site if all communication happens at eIndia itself. I’d like to preserve that transparency.
I’ll invite you to write back here when you can share the information publicly. I’m sure everyone who visits eIndia will find it useful.
On a separate note, I’d like to get your thoughts on the business model behind OkTataByeBye. Is there a plan for the site to generate revenue in future, or is it a supplement to MakeMyTrip (only creating communities, with no intention of making money)?
Candidly plans ahead are not open forum. I could share them with you and trust that they would be appropriately represented in this space. I’d put in contacts on your blog.